Dead Man Walking (Or Something)
by College Fool
Summary: Jaune only had a ghost of a chance of surviving Initiation. Thus, he didn't. A little dying is no reason to give up his life's dream of becoming a Hunter, right? Even if 'life' is now a bit late... (Warning: morbid comedy. Literally.) (Now posting how it should have died.)
1. Chapter 1

I (still) don't own Ruby. And to the regret of some, I don't write for it either.

This is my new project for awhile, a self-development project to improve myself as a writer. Unlike my usuau fare, this isn't actually already written out, nor will it be post-a-day. All chapters won't be as long as this one- but the goal is to practice writing on command, with regular updates of each Friday. If I can get that, maybe I'll make actual progress towards other bigger projects. Considering RL changes coming over the next several months, this is a far more feasible goal.

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 **Dead Man Walking (Or Something)  
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"The Hanged Man"

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Jaune Arc was a man with dreams, some might say he was a man with more dreams than sense. These people were probably right, he was forced to concede, as he plummeted towards the ground at a speed that was sure to result in him popping like a gory red water balloon.

A whistling in the air caught his attention, even as a streak of light seemed to fly towards him. A morbid fascination had him twisting in mid-air, to better watch what seemed to be a javelin that was surely about to-

Oh dear, that smart.

There was a brief flash of pain as he crashed through the verdant canopy. The tattered scream that tried to tear from his throat was stopped by mecha-shifted metal protruding through his lower trachea, a spear that only hastened his imminent re-acquaintance with Remnant.

His life flashed before his eyes as certain doom approached. There wasn't too much a remember, so it only lasted a moment, just a flash of memory of a promise to overcome any obstacle to becoming a Hunter. Funny, right?

His fourth to last thought, before oblivion, was that he still didn't know what a landing strategy was supposed to be.

His third to last thought, before he was pinned to the tree like a butterfly to a collector board, was an idle wish that he had a better last thought.

But at least he didn't hit the ground like an over-ripe watermelon. That had to count for something, right?

Hey, that last thought wasn't so ba-

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"I'm sorry!" a not-so-apologetic Pyrrha called into the distance.

The sound of a meaty impact and the thud of metal on wood was her only reply, causing a brief, momentary frown to cross her face. Sure, a thank-you might have been a bit much to hope for, but what if she'd missed her target?

She was sure she'd never hear the end of it- a nagging guilt trip that would haunt her every week for months on end until resolved or ultimately abandoned and forgotten. And that would be bad.

Well, at least he wasn't screaming in pain, or fear, so that was a good sign, right? Probably just a bit overwhelmed by his landing- maybe she should let him hang a bit, cool off. Didn't want him to be all stiff when she came to collect him.

Giggling at the thought of how she finally managed to nail herself a man, Pyrrha made her way to her future partner.

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"Hell is Other People"

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Weiss was not having a good day at all. Why not?

To start, she did not wake up on the right side of the bed. Might have had something to do with having no bed to wake up in. How uncivilized.

Then she was not successful with her attempt to befriend Pyrrha Nikos. She had tried very hard to keep the cackling to a minimum, than you very much, and a blond dunce had still ruined it.

Then said blond haired dunce had not taken the hint that she wouldn't be interested were he the last man alive on Remnant

And now she was desperately hoping to not be paired off with the crater-face who blew up the plaza before school even started.

Weiss, it was fair to say, was not amused. And not paying much attention either, given how she stumbled into Ruby after the small sniper (seriously, who sniped with a _scythe?_ ) came to a sudden stop.

"Do you hear that?" the girl asked.

Weiss had not. "Hear what?"

"That!" Ruby (that was her name, wasn't it?) repeated, pointing in a certain direction.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, and tried to listen, but didn't hear anything. "Probably just the wind," she ruled. "Let's get out of here."

Ruby scowled. "That's not nice," she scolded, and pushed past Weiss to lead in a direction that certainly wasn't north.

Weiss was only slightly more irritated than confused. "What's not nice?" she demanded. "I am perfectly nice!"

"Then why would you leave someone hanging?" Ruby asked, not looking back as she broke brush.

"Someone? Who?" Weiss asked, now slightly more lost than she was before.

Ruby threw her own confused look back at Weiss. "Uh… Jaune, I think," she, straining to listen. "You know, the guy?"

"Ugh. Mr. Snow Angel? I can't believe he called me that," Weiss complained.

"Neither can I," Ruby muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said, the voice crying for help- that's got to be Jaune."

"Ruby," Weiss said slowly, deigning to use the girl's name, "there's no one talking."

She couldn't hear anything. Really.

"Yes there is!" Ruby protested, leading faster. "I can't understand it, but there is!"

"No one besides us, I mean," Weiss corrected herself- though honestly she wished they weren't talking either. What she wouldn't give for someone quiet right now- someone who might hang around but not say anything.

"I think he's up ahead! We're coming, Jaune!" Ruby called, and cupped her ear as if hearing a response. "I think- he's stuck to a tree? He must be in the next clearing!"

"Ruby, there's no one saying anything," Weiss tried to reason with the crazy girl, stepping ahead to take the lead from the crazy girl. "And that wouldn't make any sense anyways," she continued, taking control of the conversation. "People get stuck in trees, not to them. We're going to walk past this tree, into the clearing and see-"

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"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang exclaimed. "Blake, did you hear that?"

"How could I not?" her new partner asked in return. "Sounded like Schnee," she said.

Or at least, what Blake imagined a screaming Schnee would sound like. And Blake had so many memories of imagining that sound…

Yang stepped away from the smile on her partner's face.

"Thank we should go help out?" she ultimately asked.

"…nah. She can handle herself."

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"-oh Oum oh Oum he's really stuck to the tree!" Weiss was exclaiming, voice marginally below 'deafening.'

"Geeze, Weiss, could you try any harder to kill my hearing?" Ruby groused, twisting a finger in her ear.

"Well excuse me for not caring about your ears _considering that there's a body nailed to a tree!_ " Weiss screamed.

"It's more of a spear, really," Ruby pointed out. "I wonder whose it is?"

"No one we want be with! Come on, we've got to get out of here before they come back and realize we're here!"

"Isn't it a bit late to worry after that scream?" Ruby asked.

"That was-" Weiss stuttered, but had to conceded the point. "That's why we have to get out of here before they arrive," she justified instead. "Forget about the Grimm- just think about what sort of cruel, twisted person would do this to a fellow student!"

That seemed to get through to Ruby. "We've got to get out of here!" she said. "Come on- help me get Jaune down!"

"We can't, Ruby," Weiss said with a tinge of honest regret. "That spear looks like it was driven deep, and- I don't think we're strong enough to carry him ourselves," she admitted.

"Well, we can't just leave him here like this!" Ruby protested.

That was… alright, that was fair enough. Like him or loath him, and she definitely didn't like him, it was only proper to give the dead their due.

Weiss stepped towards the tree, and held up a hand as if for a benediction. Ignoring the chill of walking over (under?) an open grave, she closed her eyes and began to recite.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," she began. "Through this-"

A wind rose and the chill returned, a feeling of weakness came over her as the words seemed to fade from her mind and energy left her. Suddenly weak in the knees, she stumbled back. "You do it," she asked Ruby, and though the girl shot her a concerned look she stepped forward and lifted her hand as well.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," Ruby intoned, cape fluttering in a windless breeze. She continued without noticing. "Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee," she solemnly swore with her eyes closed, before crossing herself and gripping her cloak.

She- Ruby- glowed for a brief moment as the breeze swept through the clearing. It died soon after, and when the younger girl opened her eyes she gave Weiss a confused look.

"Why-?" Ruby began to ask.

"It's a funeral rite," Weiss said quietly. "Or at least, it was. The ancients believed the spirits of the dead helped protect them from the Grimm. Eventually someone did it to someone who wasn't quite dead, and-" she shrugged, somber. "That's how the legend of the First Hunter goes, at least."

"I know that- I meant, why did you want say it?" Ruby asked.

Weiss blinked, not comprehending. "Because it's a funeral rite," she repeated.

Ruby blinked, not comprehending. "Right. And Jaune needs one… why?"

"Because he has a spear through his neck?" Weiss said slowly, as if unsure. She looked up at the tree, where Jaune- no, where Jaune's cadaver- remained. Yup, still there.

"So?" Ruby asked. "What, you never stabbed yourself when training?" she asked, skeptical. "I mean, even I've got this wicked scar where-"

"No, I don't think I've ever _been impaled through the throat to a tree,_ " Weiss interrupted, voice dry as dry ice. "Most people wouldn't survive that."

"Most people wouldn't survive being launched off a cliff," Ruby pointed out.

"And he didn't," Weiss said. "Someone might as well have dropped a safe on his head."

"Silly Weiss, people survive that sort of thing all the time!" Ruby laughed. "Saturday morning TV wouldn't lie."

"Those are cartoons, you childish… child! You can't just kill someone and expect them to live through it!"

This is true- people die when they are killed. But Ruby wasn't so sure.

"Why not? I exploded on you yesterday, and we're here now aren't we?"

"Ruby, that's the stupidest thing I've ever- Dust, you're right," Weiss realized, paling.

"I'm dead, aren't I? We died in the explosion and I'm stuck with you forever, doomed to be your partner. I never even- wait, why are you here then?" Weiss asked, rising panic stalling. "What'd you do, besides be a clutz? Isn't this Hell?" Weiss asked, looking around, wondering where the flames were. Then again, they _did_ say Hell was other people...

Ruby gasped. "Weiss! You can't can't just say h-e-double hock sticks like that! Besides, you're not that bad! I mean, it's not that bad!"

"Why not?" Weiss demanded. "I'm here, with you, after being exploded before school even began, and I wouldn't be surprised if a certain blonde doofus suddenly starts trying to flirt, again-"

Jaune's legs swung in the breeze, but not a word came out. Cause, you know.

"Huh. Maybe I'm not there after all," Weiss conceded. "I guess it could be worse… but still. Stop trying to make nonsense make sense. We're here, he's not, simple as that."

Ruby put her hands on her hips. "It's rude to ignore Jaune when he's right there, you know" she chided.

Weiss didn't look back up. "I don't think he minds," she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

There was a precious moment of quiet sanity, before Ruby pipped back up.

"I- no, I guess he doesn't mind," Ruby conceded. "Though I think he should get back down on the ground. He gets air- ew, ew, no, not here!" the girl began to rant, waving her arms in front of her.

Right. Crazy girl. How could Weiss forget?

"We need to get out of here before whoever threw the spear gets here," she reminded.

"Not without Jaune," Ruby protested.

"He's dead, Ruby," Weiss tried to reason. Hoping bluntness would get through.

"No he's not!" even-crazier-than-she-thought girl protested.

"Yes, he is," Weiss repeated. "Why do you think he hasn't said anything aloud this entire time?" she asked. "He's not- he wasn't exactly shy," Weiss reminded.

"He's just got something in his throat," Ruby defended.

"Yes," Weiss agreed. "A spear. Which would be blocking his airway. And why do think he hasn't gotten down from there already?"

"The spear's in deep," Ruby answered, at least admitting that much.

"And you don't think he would have taken out himself if he could, because?" Weiss led on.

"He can't," Ruby admitted, and Weiss felt victorious.

"But he's trying! Look" Ruby protested in defense of her friend, pointing upwards.

Weiss decided to humor the crazy girl before she dragged her away for her own good.

Jaune's body stopped grasping at the spear, and waved to her.

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"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang exclaimed. "Again!"

"Definitely Weiss," Blake concurred. She paused. "…think we should go help out?" she asked this time, perhaps feeling a tad guilty about earlier.

"…nah," Yang considered. "I'm sure she's got this."

Served her right for haunting Ruby like that last night.

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"My Partner is My Murderer"

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"Guess I've got this," Jaune muttered voicelessly as Weiss hightailed it out of there, dragging Ruby way at inhuman speeds.

Wait, you may ask. How does one do that? Well, even if neither girl was faunus, Weiss's symbols offer a way to- oh, did you mean how does one mutter voicelessly?

I don't know. Jaune didn't know. Jaune is I. This is… really confusing, which summed up Jaune's state of mind right now. He remembered falling. He remember thinking a kinda cool last thought. And then he remembered…

Jaune wasn't sure what he remembered. But when the fog over his thoughts had cleared, it had been to Ruby standing below him. Suddenly glad that he wasn't the sort to wear a combat skirt- being a pin-up boy was already enough to make him want to die from embarrassment- he'd tried to get himself down. Which he couldn't, because the spear really was deep and at an awkward angle to boot.

And then Weiss freaked out and dragged Ruby away. Way to leave a guy hanging, girls.

Jaune grasped at the spear shaft- tried pushing it out, tried pulling himself through it- but nothing seemed to work. With frustration he _pushed_ and with the sensation of a _pop_ he-

-left his body behind? Turning- though the spear was still in him- Jaune saw his own body. It wasn't the prettiest sight- wasn't the ugliest either- but there it was, his body over the spear that held it. Whereas Jaune was in… his own body, but kinda not. It looked like him- at least the parts he could see looked like him, looked like what he had seen all his life- but it wasn't _real_ , you know? A bit see-through, a bit unsubstantial, as if being held together more by memory than anything else.

Jaune's out of body experience took him even outer, out of the spear, and for a moment he drifted- before he realized he was actually drifting through air.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jaune cried, trying to keep his balance. A familiar sense of vertigo began to rise (Really? Now?), and Jaune began to flap his arms up, like a swimmer trying to descend in a pool. He didn't know if that actually helped- but his not-body descended and made contact with the ground. Sweet, sweet ground.

"I love you, solid ground," Jaune declared- before his unsolid body dipping a few inches into the dirt. Freaked, Jaune tried to get up- and there he floated.

"Ugh," he moaned, even as he started to get a sense for this new form. Float too high, and he'd get airsick. Float too low, and if he wasn't careful he'd be six feet under. Walking was going to be an acquired skill, wasn't it?

Deciding to try and at least get his body back, Jaune floated back up to the spear. Trying to take it in both hands- was that even possible?- he tried to pull it out from his better angle. It wobbled a little- just a bit of give- but before he could work it more, he heard someone else approaching.

"Ruby?" he asked, brightening a little in hope. (No, seriously- his spritely glow actually increased.) Had she come back to help?

But it wasn't her. It was that girl from the lockerroom- that supposedly famous one… Pyrrha! That was her name.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha was calling. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright, Pyrrha!" Juane called back. "Just a little stuck, but-"

"Aieee!" Pyrrha screamed- though nowhere nearly as loud as Weiss had. "You are not alright!"

"Well, okay, I can see how it looks that way," Jaune conceeded, "but really, I feel fine."

"I am so sorry! Sorry!" This time, she even sounded like she meant it.

Jaune paused. "Wait, you did this?" he asked.

Pyrrha was still wide-eyed and looking at the body. "I just- I saw you were tumbling through the air, thought you didn't have landing strategy, and I thought if I helped you then found you we could be partners and-"

That was kind of sweet, actually. Especially considering how he'd blown her off earlier.

"Eh, it's okay I guess," he forgave.

"Oh Dust Oh Spirits Oh Oum," Pyrrha rambled. "What do I do, what do I do? They'll never understand."

"It's alright, Pyrrha," Jaune reassured. "We can still be partners. If you could help get my body down, though, I'd really appreciate it."

"First, I need to get the body down," Pyrrha said, slowly gaining composure.

"Yes," Jaune said, glad she was taking this like a normal, reasonable person would. "First you need to get the body down."

"Then I need to hide it."

"Right. Then you- huh?" Jaune tripped over himself- which kind of left him hovering parallel to the ground in his surprise. Though he supposed it made sense- best not to let any Grimm find it until she could find some help to carry it. Man, Pyrrha really was smart. He sure lucked out-

"At least until I figure how to dispose of it," Pyrrha continued.

"Huh?" Jaune repeated. "Dispose? No, wait, Pyrhha!" he exclaimed, waving his arms. But Pyrrha paid him no mind, still looking at the body.

"Fire? To obvious- and someone might come investigate. Chemicals would be too hard to carry out here. Dust would leave bone fragments… maybe I should just bury?" Pyrrha considered rationally. "I knew a grave keeper back at Sanctum who's shovel could transform into an ax… cutting up the body _would_ make it easier to bury…" she murmered, giving her weapon a considering look.

Jaune was actually curious for a moment about the axe idea- everyone had heard of the Mistali swords that turned to plowshares, but an axe that turned into a grave-keeper's shovel sounded creepy-cool. Briefly Jaune wondered what Pyrrha's spear could turn into- maybe a winnowing fan?

But that was a thought for another time. He had to stop his crazy partner from having her way with his body. He needed that later! …he thought. Hoped.

"Pyrrha! No! Bad idea, stop!" Jaune shouted, floating infront of her face, but to no avail. The Champion paid his words no mind, and walked-

"Nuts," Jaune realized as she walked straight through him. "She can't hear me, can she?"

He'd have given himself a face palm- except at this point he wasn't sure he wouldn't be sticking his army through his head in the attempt.

Pyrrha froze- shivered as she passed through him- but only for a moment. Shaking herself and gathering resolve, she leaped up to the tree- holding herself by the spear, bracing her feet against the tree, and ready to pull.

Jaune had already beat her up there, though- floating to his body, trying to think of some way to make Pyrrha stop.

"C'mon, stupid body," he muttered, pushing it from different angles. "I need in! I-"

It worked- a sustained sense of pressure, the sensation of slipping, and he was back in. Kinda. More like looking over his own shoulder, but he could feel his body as the extension of his… spirit body? Something like that.

Pyrrha braced her body and prepared to pull. Jaune's hands gripped the spear along side hers. Her head rocketed up, eyes met his (kinda), and widened.

"Jaune?" she asked, pulling back in shock.

The spear slid out with a helpful push from him, and the Champion maintained a perfect picture of grace as she fell on her ass on the ground below. Following the laws of mortal physics, Jaune's body followed. Jaune did not- and his third-person point of view had a birds-eye view as his body tumbled and ate dirt with an audible crack.

He didn't _think_ necks were supposed to bend that way, but eh- who's counting non-fatal fatal injuries?

Pyrrha was still shocked. "Jaune?" she repeated, crawling closer, afraid of what she might see.

Floating down before she got any more crazy ideas, Jaune reasserted control. His body pushed itself up, his neck rolled in a way that definitely wasn't normal, but a helpful spirit hand pushed it back where it should.

"I'm okay, Pyrrha," he said, giving a winning smile.

Or at least he tried to. What his body actually said was "Guaouauhgh!" while looking like a brain-dead retard.

"Agh! Zombie!" Pyrrha screamed-

Alright. That comparison worked too.

-as she jumped into a combat position, readying her weapons.

"No no no! Not zombie!" Jaune tried to say, waving his arms in defense.

"Ugh ugh ugh, uwahabhww!" his body actually said... though the arms did actually come up in a- Jaune quickly fixed his arms from a menacing reach to a defensive cross in front of him.

Pyrrha paused at the change- surprised at the non-hostile menace- before putting on her game face. "I'm not going to lose heart, or my brain, or any other organs to you, monster!" she claimed, preparing to attack herself.

Not good, not good! Jaune knew he had no chance in a fight- right now controlling his own body was like being a puppeteer through molasses- but why couldn't he say anything? Spirit voice might not work, but his body should-

He looked down, and remembered. Ah. Right. Air hole, right where the spear had been.

Carefully- or at least non-threateningly- Jaune had his body point at the spear, and then at the hole, and back at Pyrrha again. He sighed, hoping she'd get the point.

"Pweeeeha," his lungs leaked.

Now they decided to be intelligible? But he- aw, never mind. Jaune took his breaks like he took his broken neck, and just rolled with it. He sighed again, to a similar effect.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, lowering her weapon if not her guard.

Jaune nodded- and immediately regretted it, as his neck went in a way it should have. Fixing it- and pretending not to see Pyrrha's grimace- he gave a thumbs up instead. His body shakily followed.

And he remembered to shut his mouth. Leaving his jaw hanging probably hadn't helped.

"Are you really Jaune? Or a zombie?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune tried to say 'Jaune,' but what came out was an unintelligible moan of "Uaaaawwn."

"One moan for yes, two for zombie."

Unsure if he was supposed to count the first one, Jaune stayed silent.

Pyrrha looked at him- just looked at him- and shook her head. "Either this is a crazy semblance, or I'm already crazy," she muttered, and turned and walked into the forest in a daze.

Jaune had thoughts on that, considering what her first response to seeing his body had been, but not wanting to be left behind he lumbered after her.

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End Week One

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Author Note:

Forgive the overly long Author Note of context.

Some of you may have noticed how similar the start was with Coeur Al'Aran's recent story, "From Beyond." It's not an accident- but it's not a rip-off either.

This fic was inspired by a conversation I had with Coeur Al'Aran – as well as a challenging little game we've been playing. Essentially one of us would come up with a vague premise for a story, and the other would have to try and slap a plot together within 15 minutes – and it had to work. It's a fun little exercise, and next week you'll start seeing some of them.

Anyway… eventually see, Coeur gave me the challenge of:

Jaune dies in initiation.

This led to a BRUTALLY SAD fic, because that's what I do, am I right? But a conversation after led to the idea of ghosts… and almost at the same time we both submitted a Ghost Jaune idea to one another. Both were very comedic and sounded hilarious, and shared various elements.

There was however, one minor difference between them…

Coeur's idea had Ghost Jaune being COVERT. Wherein Jaune haunts Blake.

My idea had Ghost Jaune being OVERT. Wherein everyone will know about his ghostly undeath.

Each of us writing a fic seemed the most obvious choice. We are not in "competition" nor is this an "argument" or us "stealing" ideas from one another- we came up with a lot of the same things at the same time, some of which will be obvious later on. This is all Coeur's fault, really- Coeur has been pushing/encouraging me to be a better writer, and challenged me to just try and write a story on the go rather than pre-writing the whole thing. He's set a pace of weekly updates, and I'll be trying to keep up- and this way, maybe we can both produce something that will be amusing, in different ways.

Read them both if you will – considering our different styles, and our different schedules, and different chapter lengths, it'll be two different experiences... but I'm sure both will be enjoyable reads. Coeur is a master at mixing the humorous with the dramatic, and has a great plot in mind- the heavy, rich chocolate of a Halloween night's haul. Me? I've got a twisted sense of humor- and a bunch of cheap jokes. The low-calorie candy corn of morbid humor, if you will.

Either way, enough talk. Make sure to check out Coeur Al'Aran's story From Beyond – you can find it on my favourites if nowhere else. I hope we can both entertain!


	2. Chapter 2

I (still) don't own Ruby. And to the regret of some, I don't write for it either.

This is my new project for awhile, a self-development project to improve myself as a writer. Unlike my usuau fare, this isn't actually already written out, nor will it be post-a-day. All chapters won't be as long as this one- but the goal is to practice writing on command, with regular updates of each Friday. If I can get that, maybe I'll make actual progress towards other bigger projects. Considering RL changes coming over the next several months, this is a far more feasible goal.

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 **Dead Man Walking (Or Something)  
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"My Partner is a Zombie"

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Pyrrha Nikos knew she didn't have the greatest social exposure, but she was pretty sure even she'd seen this in a movie before.

Pretty maiden? Too humble to brag, but check. Alone in the woods? Check. Monsters in dark? Check. An ominous shuffle in the bushes, always behind her as she briskly walked and tried not to run in terror? Check.

It was still following. It was still following _her_? Why was it following her?

'Accidentally' letting another branch whiplash back, a pang of guilt made her sigh and look back in concern none the less. She needn't have bothered- unperturbed at breaking brush with his face, there was the vacant, braindead smile of her… of her…

Oum, she wasn't sure what to call him in her mind. Partner? Unwanted tagalong? Guilty secret? Victim?

Jaune gave a brain-dead smile- or was it a dead-brain smile?- and gave her a shaky thumbs up. All good.

Pyrrha forced a shaky smile, turned around, and started walking a little bit faster than before. Lone girl in the woods? Stalked by zombie? Oh yeah, she'd seen this before.

The first branch had been an accident, really. It was just- when he'd fallen down and not gotten up, there'd been a glimmer of hope that he'd _stay_ that way… and considering how long it had taken him to get up, maybe if he 'accidentally' fell down again it'd last long enough for her to 'not notice' and make her escape.

"Well, what happened to your partner, Ms. Nikos?" They'd say.

"Oh, we were separated in the forest. I couldn't find him. I am heartbroken," she say.

"Oh, how tragic. He is certainly dead, then, so no need to look for him. In fact, we should avoid Forever Falls forever from here on out, lest we see the tragic fate with our own eyes. In fact, let's light it all aflame as his funeral pyre, just to be sure. Here's a new partner as a consolation prize, Ms. Nikos," they'd… of course they wouldn't say that. Nor would they give her a dreamy beefcake who was just her type, had never heard of her, and actually had a pulse.

Pyrrha sighed as she came to a stop. This was not what she'd intended when she'd come to Beacon to make new sorts of friends who didn't know her. Granted, this was a new sort of friend, and he hadn't known her, but in all honesty she'd been hoping for something and someone a bit more… lively.

A hand came down on her shoulder. It was probably meant to be encouraging, but the fact that the body had already begun to cool meant it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Earooo?" Jaune said, head tilted in a way that she'd already come to recognize as 'trying not to have it fall off.'

"It's nothing," she answered. "Just trying to figure which way is north. I'm a little… out of it, right now."

"Ugghwaaaah," Jaune groaned, nodding.

"Are you… trying to make me feel better?" Pyrrha asked.

"Ugghwaaaah!" Jaune groaned with emphasis. This time when he nodded, his head tipped too far and fell at that unnatural angle. Pyrrha pretended not to watch him try to put his head on straight.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and breathed deep- and tried to ignore the stench of blood and… other things that happened when a body died.

"Please don't do that," she asked. "Your neck… is not supposed to bend that way. And your mouth is hanging."

Jaune fixed his head and shut his mouth, and Pyrrha felt a little bit of guilt. He was trying… and how galling was that? Concern from the guy whose neck she'd broken…. twice! (And, considering how low in the trachea she'd nailed him, almost his heart as well.)

Her own heart would be beating faster, were it not for the fact that it'd have to be twice as fast for the two of them to average normal.

Seeing her grimace, he flashed her a thumbs up- well, slowly and shakily gave her one, but it was quicker than before. Pyrrha gave a grateful smile, and he gave a double thumbs up. For emphasis.

"We'll work this out," she promised her… alright, her partner. She was a Champion who overcame impossible odds. Who adapted, stayed on her feet, and was going to go from being a Champion to Hero. She wasn't going to abandon her responsibility, or someone she was responsible for.

Though if she happened to find a cave… and if there happened to be an unfortunate, tragic cave-in…

No! Bad partner thoughts! Bad Pyrrha!

"We'll work this out," Pyrrha repeated. "Come on, Jaune. We need to find the relic," she reminded, stepping forth.

"Uhhhwaaa!" Jaune cheered as he lumbered after her, his good mood sounding like nails on chalkboard.

"Without moaning, please," Pyrrha begged.

/

* * *

/

"Valkyrie Collects Spirit of Dead Warrior. More at Eleven."

/

* * *

/

Were this a combat exercise, she's not sure who would have succeeded- on one hand, Jaune's lumbering was hardly stealthy. Forget stepping over sticks and stones- he broke brush without batting an eye, though she was pretty sure he'd be missing an eye soon enough. Any normal Huntress would have heard him quarter of a mile away, and laid in wait for an ambush.

On the other hand, any Huntress at all would have heard this beast even further.

"Jaune, get down," Pyrrha pushed, in barely a whisper. He complied like a champ, falling to the ground and- Pyrrha finished dragging the unmoving body into the bushes, feeling slightly guilty as she did so and hoping no one was around to see how suspicious it looked.

No one else saw, however, and she too retreated into the bush. In the distance, a lumbering crash resounded- then another, and another. The monster approached ever closer, birds fleeing as a tree fell.

"Stay quiet," Pyrrha whispered, but she needn't have bothered. Jaune was dead silent, not even seeming to breath-

Or on closer inspection, not actually breathing at all…

"If it finds us, play dead," Pyrrha whispered. "I'll run and try to lead it off," she offered. It was a noble, selfless thing, even proper- after all, Jaune was in no state to outrun anything- but it also rested on the assumption that any beast would rather follow her than devour the slower, weaker, still warm feast left behind.

Which be so tragic. If her gambit didn't work, she would need a new partner after all. How… unfortunate.

The creature let out its call once more. A horrible, inhuman sound that chilled the soul…

"I don't think that's what a sloth sounds like either, Nora."

"Shh, Ren!" came the even louder response. "We don't want to give away our position!"

"Then why are you making your call?" the masculine-ish Ren asked. (Two points off masculinity already? His ego would be bruised if he knew.)

"To let people know we're _friendly_ sloths!" Nora explained. "That way, if they're hiding from whatever made those screams earlier, they won't be afraid! Everyone loves sloths!"

Ren let out of sight of time-worn humor, but Pyrrha let out a sigh of disa- of relief. Not enemies, then. She prepared to stand, to make their presence known-

She looked down, and saw Jaune sprawled right where she'd dragged his body. He hadn't moved since.

"Maybe we should just stay here," she whispered. She didn't know how she'd explain this- she didn't know _what_ to explain- but she knew she didn't want to. 'Hey, this is my partner, I killed him, but no big deal he was walking recently but isn't now?' That would-

"Is there someone there?" the male voice called out. Pyrrha stilled- held her breath- and hoped he'd think he was imagining things.

"You see something, Ren?" the girl asked, stepping into view with weapon drawn. "Think we should blow them up and out?"

"Not yet, Nora," Ren answered. "I thought I- never mind," he said. "Is there anyone in those bushes there?" he called out. "Anyone who would mind a grenade in their bush?"

Pyrrha sighed. So much for hiding. "I'd mind," she called, standing, brushing twigs off her clothes. She looked up and-

"Hiiii!" Nora exclaimed, inches from her face. Pyrrha gave started yep- when, _how_ had she-? "Are you the girl who screamed earlier?" the pink-theme girl asked.

"No- no," Pyrrha stuttered, off balance. "That wasn't me."

Nora gave a toothy smile… but her open eyes weren't so cheerful.

"Are you the one that made the girl scream, then?" she asked, the warhammer behind her back balancing and complimenting the predatory gaze that glanced at Pyrrha's knees.

"No!" Pyrrha exclaimed. Which was sort of true. She was the girl who'd made the thing that made the girl scream.

"Oh. Okay," Nora accepted, appeased. "Then why's there a dead body at your feet?" she asked without a hint of malice audible.

"That is an excellent question with a very reasonable answer," Pyrrha replied.

There was a beat.

"And I am trying to think of it," Pyrrha admitted.

The boy in green shifted- but his gaze wasn't on Pyrrha, but a bit too her side, in Jaune's direction. Hammer girl kept her position- hammer behind her back- but Pyrrha knew that the hammer would be swinging even as she drew her own weapon. Pyrrha shot a glance down at Jaune, still still. He couldn't run, and he couldn't hide, and he probably stood no chance in a fight. He'd be destroyed, pulverized beyond recognition in a flash-

-and that would be a bad thing, she reminded herself, relaxing her posture into something less confrontational.

"Jaune, a little help here?" she whispered.

She almost saw the body twitch, a marionette whose strings were being pulled. With a groan- or at least an involuntary decompression of the chest cavity which pushed air through a hole in an approximation of a groan- Jaune stood up.

"And there it is," Pyrrha answered cheerily. "The reason being that he's not dead. Wave to the nice people, Jaune," she instructed.

Jaune waved. The green boy simply stared, mouth open. In a flash of self-conscious by proxy, Pyrrha checked if Jaune's jaw was hanging. Nope, still good.

Nora waved back. "Hi!" she greeted Jaune. "You smell funny. Why were you lying down like that?" she asked.

Jaune carefully looked at Pyrrha, making sure not to tilt his neck.

"He was sleeping," Pyrrha explained as she brushed twigs off him, covering for him- and making sure his hoodie covered the hole.

"He sure looks tired," Nora admitted.

"Dead tired, even," Ren remarked, still giving that odd look at Jaune's direction.

"Er, yes. That. Exactly that," Pyrrha agreed, thinking of Jaune's half-open eyes. "He's had a bad day."

"He's not the only one," Nora claimed. "There was that girl who screamed earlier. We heard her allllll the way that way, and when it happened again we thought we'd better look. Did you find her?"

"I heard her, but I didn't see her," Pyrrha admitted, more honestly than before. "Then I found Jaune, and-" she shrugged.

Nora gave Jaune an examining look. Jaune's head turned to track her… and then Pyrrha gave it a subtle tug as it almost toppled off its base.

"You're really quiet," Nora said to Jaune.

"He's just shy," Pyrrha claimed.

"Oh. Why?" Nora asked.

"I… uh… think he likes you?" Pyrrha said the first thing on her mind- and tried not to slap it soon after.

Nora eeped a little, blushing- and then leaned closer to inspect, then turned her head to Pyrra. "You sure he's not dead?" she asked.

Pyrrha laughed nervously. "Of course not," she lied. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, he's not breathing," Nora said, leaning closer.

"He's just breathless a cute girl is so close."

"He smells like a dead person," Nora said, holding her nose.

Pyrrha saw a bit of brown on the backside that she really, desperately, hoped was dirt or mud.

"He got scared by the scream," she claimed. Saying it was Grimm wouldn't be believable, after all- but that screech? Pyrrha didn't fail to notice that Nora was awkwardly pulling at her pants at the memory... and that Ren had a bit of 'dirt' back there as well.

It was a really scary scream. You could even say- it was a brown note.

Nora touched Jaune's neck.

"And he's got no pulse."

"His heart skipped a beat at seeing you," Pyrrha covered. There was a pause as Nora looked at her. "Still skipping," Pyrrha suggested. Shot through the heart, and you're to blame- you give love, a bad name…

"He's got a hole in his neck."

"It's a neck piercing. They're all the rage back in Sanctum."

"And he's barely on his feet," Nora noted. "Boop!" she demonstrated, giving a light pop on the face.

Jaune tumbled backwards into the bush. The pressure made the air in his lungs escape, a slow wheeeeeeze as the bush lowered him to the ground with the sound of deflating balloon.

"He fainted," Pyrrha hoped. "Like I said, tired."

"Oh. Well. I guess that makes sense," Nora conceded. "I hope he doesn't mind that I'm not interested," she said towards Pyrrha.

"I'm sure he'll survive, Nora," Ren said dryly.

Nora laughed. "Guess so," she said cheerfully. "I hope we can still be friends.I just thought that since someone screamed like they saw a ghost earlier, that they might have actually seen a ghost, and that Jaune might be a ghost."

"You can see him, and you can't see ghosts," Ren reminded his partner.

"Most people can't," Pyrrha muttered.

"But Ren can!" Nora cheered.

Two heads snapped towards Ren. One of them snapped a little too far, a little too fast, and actually snapped. Again.

A look of unease flashed across the stoic boy. "Nora, I-" he tried to wave off… and then sighed. "Ever since I was little, I've… seen things, things that other people can't. Adults never believed me, but-"

"But I do!" Nora proclaimed proudly. "Ren's smart, and knows a lot of cool and kooky stuff, and sometimes does weird things for no clear reason, but who doesn't? We're like two peas in a cobb!"

"Peas in a pod, Nora. Peas in a pod."

"That's what I said!"

Pyrrha looked between them- and didn't laugh. In fact, she almost looked desperate. "Can you really see him?" she asked, hoping.

Ren nodded, and pointed… not at Jaune's body, but right above him. "He's right there. That's how I was able to see you in the bushes- he was just standing over you."

Pyrrha's eyes widened, but Jaune's body startled. The sense of a marionette coming to life came to mind again, and Jaune began to try to get himself out of the bush.

Ren stepped forward to help him. Kneeling down, he reached out for Jaune's flailing limbs. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" he asked kindly, pulling the dead boy out of the bush.

Jaune's body fell on all fours, and then looked up at Ren. His jaw was hanging, and a look of wonder somehow on his face. All that was missing was a tear of-

"Bwaaaain!" Jaune's body cried, grabbing Ren and trying to hug the ghost-seeing boy in desperate relief. Or maybe in desperate need to eat his brains.

Honestly, watching with Nora as the auburn girl smiled and ignored the green boy's pleas for assistance, Pyrrha was too drained to care which.

/

* * *

/

"Ghost Whisperer"

/

* * *

/

It wasn't much of a surprise that their pairings teams had become a team- he himself was the one to suggest it. They were all going in the same direction, after all, and there was safety in numbers.

He also had a feeling that Jaune would have followed him regardless. At least if the energetic, dare he say lively, gestures from the luminescent boy-above-the-body were any hint.

"Aw, it's like a puppy!" Nora gushed, referring to how Jaune's body lumbered behind Ren- occasionally falling behind when Ren broke brush, but speeding up to lead just a few steps ahead when the terrain was better.

"A giant, two-legged, undead puppy?" Pyrrha asked. She and Nora trailed the group- pulling the rear guard.

"Those are, like, the best kind!" Nora cheered. "Don't you think it's cute?"

"Uh, well- that is, I mean-" Ren couldn't help it, even he snuck a look at the flustered Champion. "I guess? If you're into that sort of thing?" she hazarded.

"Yeah! You're so lucky, Pyrrha," Nora said. "The only thing better would be if he were giant, _four_ -legged undead puppy! That would be-" she gasped. "Jaune? Can you do that?"

Jaune's body didn't respond at first- but Ren saw the ghostly outline above it turn to him.

It was definitely a ghost- a pale glow, like faint aura, but also translucent and see-through. Out of the corner of the eye it would just be an outline, a figure- but when he focused on it, he could make out the beginning of features. A bit of the hair, the nose, and the eyes- and the cock of the head, clearly asking 'should I?'

Ren nodded. "Go ahead, Jaune," he said, giving permission.

The spirit, which had been lazily keeping one hand on the back between the shoulders as if gently pushing, moved the hand to the head. As if holding a remote control- and Ren saw a ghostly flash and flow from the spirit as Jaune seemed to slide into the body- Jaune gave it direction.

Jaune's body sank to all fours, doggy-style. There it was- the sagging jaw with tongue holding up, the slight sway in the rear as if a wagging tail… and then on the back, waiting for the reaction, was the spirit body, using the body as a chair and crossing his legs as if lounging.

Catching Jaune's spirited grin, Ren averted his gaze from the body's backside. Because he did, he saw that Pyrrha was not- caught in an expression of both horror and fascination.

Nora just laughed and applauded. "Can you bark?"

Jaune's spirit looked at Ren, and shook his head.

"He can't," Ren conveyed, even as the body raised back to its feet and began walking again.

"Can you…. are you able to talk with him?" Pyrrha asked, tearing her gaze from Jaune's necrotic bum.

Ren shook his head. "I can see ghosts, but I can't hear them," he claimed.

"Why not?"

"It's just one of those things," he hand-waved. "Some people are born able to see ghosts. Some can hear them. Some just hear certain ghosts. From what I've read, it's all arbitrary," he explained.

"Do you know a lot about ghosts?" Pyrrha asked, polite and curious. From where he hung onto his body, Jaune looked interested as well.

Ren nodded, a bit shyly, unused to honest interest rather than skepticism. "I try," he said. "Since I've been dealing with them most of my life. Most people don't really see ghosts as well as I do- just barely, or out of the corner of their eyes- and those that do… well, we learn to keep it a secret. No one wants to be the kid with the imaginary friends forever."

Pyrrha understood. "Or called crazy," she realized sympathetically. "Did people give you a hard time?"

"Only until I broke their legs," Nora boasted. "Then they thought I was the crazy one." Rather than sad, she sounded proud.

"It was just skinned knees, Nora," Ren reminded, but he had a soft smile on his face all the same.

Pyrrha smiled as well, and even Jaune seemed to glow a soft contentment. "Why did you believe Ren if you couldn't see ghosts, Nora?" she asked, curious.

Ren and Nora traded a look, and shook their head. "It's a bit personal. Sorry, Pyrrha," Nora apologized.

"It's alright," Pyrrha accepted. "So how do you understand what a ghost is trying to say?" Pyrrha said.

"It depends on the ghost," Ren said. "Some are obvious. Some try to show me something, or take me somewhere important. And some…" he shook his heads. "Some aren't interested in talking."

"Bad ghosts," Nora whispered darkly, but then cheered. "But some are good ghosts, and they like charades! Ren is a _master_ at charades!"

"Oh?" Pyrrha asked. "Then what is Jaune trying to say?" she asked, prompting Ren to look forward- and realize that Jaune's body had its hand raised like a student in class. Spirit Jaune had an amused, mock-impatient, look on his face before he started to move his arms.

"C… A… Y… F?" Ren repeated.

"Cayf?" Pyrrha repeated, confused. "An acronym? Does that stand for something?"

"Call All Your Friends?" Nora suggested. "Can't Answer Your Phone? Cold Aardvarks Yodel Fluently?"

"Phone doesn't begin with an 'F', Nora."

Jaune gave himself a face-palm… and deciding that it wasn't enough, had his body do it as well. Double face-palm- for those moments when one face-palm isn't enough. Not looking up, zombie-Jaune pointed in a certain direction.

"Oh," Pyrrha realized, seeing what they were near. "He meant cave."

Jaune's spirit body-language practically screamed in frustration. Oh, come on. It's not his fault body letters are so hard to do when standing!

The unofficial team moved towards the cave… but Ren paused to offer a suggestion as he passed. "Next time, try making the shapes while floating," he whispered.

/

* * *

/

"The Light at the End of the Tunnel"

/

* * *

/

The four's descent into the cave had been a true tribute to the merits of cutting-edge political theory of democracy.

"Who votes we go into the totally awesome mystery cave of darkness and see if the relics are in there?" Queen Nora proposed to her court.

"I'm not sure that's the wisest choice," her favorite, but occasionally wet, blanket counseled. "These cave drawings are rather ominous."

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Lady Valkerie," her now-favorite blonde Sir Jaune indicated with a raised hand. "I full-heartedly approve of your daring leadership, and wish to break fast with you over pancakes at the earliest opportunity," she translated from the groans and wheezes.

"Thanks, Jaune!" Queen Nora acknowledged, gracious in her informality as she was. Though victory was already assured- surely two bodies and a third spirit body counted as a tie-breaker?- she deigned to solicit her less reputable new friend's opinion as well. "Pyrrha?" she asked the shield maiden, the token-evil teammate of their team of teamliness.

"I don't know," the suspected murderess hemmed-and-hawed. "What's the worst that could happen?" she asked.

"We could meet a terrible beast that kills one of us while the others have no choice but to flee," wet blanket said dryly.

" _Or_ we could find the secret of the totally awesome mystery cave of darkness!" Nora boldly countered. "Then it would be a totally awesome adventure cave of darkness!"

"And we could find the relic," Sir Jaune eloquently reminded in a hideous wheeze.

"And we could find the relic," Nora added as an afterthought.

Pyrrha looked at her… then looked at Ren… and then Jaune… and managed not to rub her blood-flecked hands together shiftily.

"It'd be a shame if we left only to have to come back later," man-eater Pyrrha said with insincere concern. "I'm sure we will survive anything inside," she said with barely a cackle.

And thus the people came to a consensus, and democracy demonstrated the wisdom of the masses when the majority agreed with Queen Nora and an un-convicted murderer.

The Queen's Court continued down the cavern, lighting a torch as they did so. It was Queen Nora, sovereign of all she surveyed, who saw it first.

"Oooh, pretty," she regally declared, looking at the golden shiny.

"Verily," Sir Jaune described in a groan. "Shall I retrieve it, my Queen?" he offered.

"I'm not sure that's the relic," wet blanked poo-pahhed.

"But it's pretty… and shiny…." Queen Nora reasoned in as refined an argument as was ever made while hypnotized by shiny. "Me want…"

"Of course, my Lady," faithful Sir Jaune vowed, stumbling forward.

"Is that-?" Pyrrha asked, a hint of treacherous hope in her voice.

Ren's eyes widened as he saw it as well. "Jaune!" he began to say.

Pyrrha didn't give him a chance. "Shhh!" she hushed, smothering his words with hand, keeping Ren from interfering.

"Come here, stupid relic!" Sir Jaune demanded in a gasp as he reached out for the prize. "Queen Nora demands you be a decoration for her crown!" he moaned.

Queen Nora saw the danger her faithful servant was in moments before it made itself known.

"Jaune, no!" she tried to warn. "Step away from the light! Step away from the light!" Don't go towards the light at the end of the tunnel!

Because if you do, next thing you know the light gets you. Shiny stabbed forward, spearing Jaune in a flash as the Deathstalker struck.

"Oh my god, it killed Jaune!" wet blanket wailed.

"You bastard!" Pyrrha the Untrustworthy screamed in glee. "You magnificent bastard!"

Well, she thought that's what they said. It was admittedly hard to hear over the beast's roar, and Sir Jaune's battle moan as he drew his blade and began to strike at the tail.

"Is he…?" green blanket paused. "Is he trying to cut himself down?" he asked.

"Zombie, remember?" Pyrrha reminded. "But no time- run!" she shouted, leading the retreat back up the slope. Even Nora- de-throned as she was in the fear and need to retreat- followed, and soon took the lead.

They were right behind her- even Jaune, hauled as he was on the monster's stinger.

"It's catching up!" Ren shouted. "Nora, can you bring the cave down on it?" he asked.

Nora was uncharacteristically hesitant. "But- Jaune-"

"Do it!" Pyrrha demanded. "Jaune can't slow it down himself!"

Skidding to a stop, skidding uphill at the entrance of the cave even as she turned around, Nora turned her mighty Warhammer into a grenade launcher and shot the ceiling. Stalactites fell, shattering on the beast's carapace, even as Jaune bravely continued to chop away at the base of the stinger.

The beast screamed as rocks fell on it. Jaune did not. A few more grenades, and it screamed more. More rocks fell, and the beast was buried and disappeared from view.

"That was- too close-" Ren the Wise panted, the fright and sudden chase doing more to wind him than any actual fighting. "Good work, Nora," he praised.

Normally that would have cheered her up. Now, though… "But… Jaune," she said, unhappy. A Queen shouldn't abandon her subjects like that.

"It's alright, Nora," the recently un-partnered Pyrrha the Champion reassured. "You didn't what you needed to- what you had to- and I'm sure Jaune would have understood," she claimed. Selfless, noble Pyrrha put a hand on Nora's shoulder. "He would have wanted us to survive. We may mourn his death, but we will move on and remember him fondly, knowing that he died so that we might live."

"Uh, didn't he die because you-"

" _Knowing he died so that we might live,_ " Pyrrha repeated, hand tightening painfully for emphasis.

"I think it's a bit early to move on," Ren weighed in.

Pyrrha shook her head. "We need to- nay, we must- because he would not want us to grieve for him. In fact-"

"No, I mean, his ghost is right there," Ren said, pointing behind Pyrrha.

Pyrrha yelped and spun around, seeing… nothing but the rubble of the cave entrance.

"In fact, he's gesturing kind of frantically," Ren claimed. "Something like- I'm sorry, I don't understand- do you need us to dig your body out? No? Well, what-" Ren began.

The collapsed cave entrance exploded, shrapnel flying in an expression of brute force and strength. The nightstalker roared- or whatever you called it when a scorpion that big made a lot of noise- and made it outside. It was malevolent and furious… and possibly in pain, as the stinger sagged a bit even as the impaled body continued to hack at where the singer met the tail.

"It's not dead and buried!" Nora recognized. "And neither is Jaune!" Nora cheered, all right with the world once more.

"Tch," Pyrrha the no-longer-tragically-un-partnered muttered.

"Girls?" wet blanket asked, stepping backwards slowly. "We should probably step back. And run."

The stinger thrust forward with a tremendous snap, finally shaking off its surprisingly stubborn victim. Jaune's body flew into the sky, cartwheeling all the while, as little bits of guts and gore rained out of it and over the forests.

"I think running would be a marvelous idea," Pyrrha the Suspicious agreed with a nervous smile, one that seemed maniac considering the speckles of blood scattered on them all. "Shall we?"

And so they did, Queen Nora laughing all the while.

/

* * *

End Week Two


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I (still) don't own RWBY. And if I did, and RWBY were like this, it'd be rated M for gore alone.

/

* * *

/

The Grace of Angels

/

* * *

/

"Wheeeeee! This is awesome!" Ruby Rose was saying. Or probably saying. The wind made it hard to hear, almost as hard as the sound of Weiss's heart as blood pumped through her ears, but the maniac grin on the little girl's face was a good hint as she whooped again with glee.

Why was she whooping? Weiss knew why she was whooping. It was the reason that Weiss's heart was racing at a rate of 'absurd,' having finally calmed down from the point of 'what the –explicitive-?'

It was because, of course, they were riding on a giant nevermore. It didn't look terribly happy, but that's what happens when you get hitchhikers who turn out to be trained murderers of your kind.

"Geeze, Weiss, I take back all the mean things I thought about you!" Ruby shouted, ignoring the squawking bird of murder. "Your idea is awesome!"

"Of course it's amazing!" Weiss retorted, choosing not to dwell on the admission that Ruby thought nasty things of her. "I came up with it! And it's better than the alternative!"

Now, Weiss knows what you might be thinking. Dust, Weiss knows what she'd be thinking, even if she wasn't thinking in the third person- that this is a no good, really bad, utterly absurd, downright rotten idea.

But you know what's even more rotten? Hanging out with dead bodies that move. Oh, they may seem nice at first. Clean, even. But one day… one day… one day the come stumbling in, all disheveled and tracking mud everywhere, and trying to eat your brains.

Weiss liked her brains where they were, thank you very much, just as she liked cleat carpets. Putting space between her and that… _cadaver_ (because she was a high class lady and cadaver sounds almost as classy as caviar) was the only appropriate response.

And what better way to put distance to a ground-bound, tree-pinned, zombie than to catch a ride on a giant murder bird?

Plus, it beat walking north to the relics. Ruby thought it was a stroke of genius, and Weiss was willing to take credit for the idea now that she'd calmed down a bit. It never hurt for people to have a good opinion of you, afterwards. Ruby might be a little crazy, but Weiss had a bit optimism, and preferred to think of the little girl as a fixer-upper. An investment opportunity, even.

Yes, they were going places. All three of them- her, Ruby, the blonde tumbling in the air beside them…

/

* * *

/

"Weiss is in trouble!" Yang froze, skin puckering and ears flattening in instinctual terror at the sound. "Again!"

"She really needs to stop doing that," Blake groused, finger in her ear. "I feel bad for whoever's stuck as her partner."

"Yeah," Yang nodded, glad to have someone as cool and composed as Blake. It would really stink to have a fraidy-cat for a partner. "Still… don't you think we should go and look for her?" she wondered. "Rather than just staying here, waiting for someone to come for these relics?"

Blake considered… and shook her head. "It'd be better to wait for allies to come to us," she said.

"But- that blood-curdling, soul-chilling scream," Yang worried. "What if whatever's out there finds Ruby?"

Ah, right- the little sister. "I'm sure she'll be fine- whatever is out there hasn't killed Weiss yet, after all. You said your sister's a brave girl, right?" Blake asked.

"Ruby's not afraid of anything," Yang boasted.

"Not even ghosts."

/

* * *

/

"Oh! Hey Jaune!" Ruby waved at the cadaver cartwheeling in the sky beside them. "Come here often?"

Weiss considered the circumstances in something close to catatonia as the crimson-caped child cheerily chatted with cartwheeling cadaver coasting through the clouds contiguous to the cruel but captive crow they had compelled to carry them closer to check the certain constructs which they had calculated were certainly the objective of Ozpin's cryptic clues to conclude this capricious culminating induction of-

Crap, she couldn't consider continue with this charade, or any other cognition contingency, _when the dead body was back!_

Jaune waved back. Maybe. The cartwheeling made it hard to tell what was natural and what was… well, unnatural.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ruby asked. "You aren't going to be airsick up here or something, are you?"

If there was a response, Weiss couldn't hear it over the wind, but Ruby nodded as if there was one

"I think that's the least of his problems, Ruby," Weiss shakily managed.

"Whew! I'd feel bad for anyone below," the girl said, ignorring Weiss. "Sorry we left you in the tree, Jaune. How've you been hanging since?"

This time Weiss did hear a whistling noise over the wind- as the body slowed its cartwheeling and seemed to straighten into the wind, a whistling sound picked up. Cloth flapping in the wind over the exposed airhole in the upper chest.

Ruby laughed. "I _thought_ I saw Pyrrha approaching as Weiss dragged me off!" she crowed.

Weiss paled. "You saw Pyrrha?" she demanded of Ruby. "And you didn't tell me?" That meant- that meant Pyrrha might have _heard_ her undignified shriek! Pyrrha- brave, fearless, potential partner Pyrrha, who could have been hers had she not fled, but offered to trade one brain-dead partner for another…

No, wait, she messed that one up. Trade one brain-dead partner for Pyrrha. Or herself. Either way, really.

Ruby had an amused look on her face as she turned away from Jaune. "Well, you weren't exactly listening to anything I was saying at the time," she reminded.

"Well, excuse me for trying to save what's left of your brains!" Weiss retorted.

Ruby turned back towards Jaune. "Don't ask," she told the corpse.

One of Jaune's arms caught in the wind, sending him tumbling like a washer-machine. Somehow he tumbled over the axis of his own extended arm- and the upraised thumb.

"Ruby," Weiss began.

Ruby laughed over her. "No, it's good. Weiss is a lot less uptight than I thought. This Nevermore idea of hers was great!"

"Hey!"

"She's the one who insisted we jump on this nevermore," Ruby shared. "It's really saving us time walking."

"Ruby! Listen to me!"

"No, it was kinda considerate of her, really. I think it's working out."

Weiss crawled forward on the Nevermore to reach over and shake Ruby. "Ruby! Pay attention!"

The reaper shot the heiress an annoyed glance. "Weiss, can it wait? I'm in the middle of a conversation here."

"You're not- you're talking to no one!" Weiss shouted.

Ruby looked irritated. "There's no need to be rude, you know," the younger girl pointed out. "Just because you wanted to leave Jaune up a tree-"

 _"Because he was_ _impaled to it!"_

"-doesn't mean he's not my friend."

"He's dead!" Weiss shouted.

"So?" Ruby asked. "All my friends are dead."

"Somehow, that explains so much about you," Weiss threw at the girl in the gothic black dress.

And it did. Really. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, as if she'd been slapped. Then a familiar hurt came across her face. And then she- Ruby Rose _wilted_ is the only way Weiss could put it, withdrawing into herself and her cloak with a tuck of the chin and a role of the shoulders.

Weiss felt guilt, even before the sudden and unearthly chill came across her face, one cheek and then the other even though she hadn't turned her face against the wind. Beside her, Jaune's body tumbled in the wind- utterly uncontrolled- but she didn't notice as a sensation of ice filled her.

"I'm sorry," Weiss managed. The feeling of ice vanished- the same sunlight as before warming her- but her apology was lost to the wind. "That was uncalled for. I'm sorry," Weiss apologized, again, louder.

It still wasn't enough- or shouldn't have been- but perhaps the wind carried it for her. Ruby looked up- a sniffle carried itself downwind- and the two girls shared shakey but sincere smiles- Weiss contrite, Ruby daring to hope.

"Okay," Ruby accepted and forgave, rubbing what she'd later swear was wind out of her eye. Her earlier cheer returned, perhaps a bit forced, but genuine. "You're lucky Jaune likes you," Ruby claimed.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," Weiss griped, thinking back to the locker room flirtations. She looked away- and unfortunately back at the body, which was once again tumbling in the air facing towards the bird and its passengers.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped, annoyed at the mannequin-like grin stretching across its lips.

/

* * *

/

Far, far below- but somehow not so far behind- there was gunfire and explosions and excitement. But mostly heavy, heavy breathing as three teenagers played a game of 'keep-away' with a giant scorpion.

"How long- has this thing- been following us?" Ren panted, even as a few feet in front of them Nora jumped and spun in mid-air, sending grenades behind them. The Nightstalker gave a ferocious scream, and they had a bit more space as they continued, but they couldn't stop running.

"I- don't- know," Pyrrha admitted, less out of breath but controlling her breathing to keep pace with her pace. "Half-mile? More?"

"Any sign of Jaune?" Nora asked, an excited grin on her face but a sincere concern in her voice. Unlike the rest, her energy was totally untapped.

Ren looked up, and shook his head. "Aura still- up there," he said, pointing.

Pyrrha nodded. "Keep- towards- him," she directed Ren. "Don't- lose- sight," she said, cadence bouncing her words (and other things- like her… ponytail) like so.

"What if- what if he doesn't come back down?" Nora asked, excited by the concept. "What if he's in heaven with two beautiful angels?"

"I don't- think- it works like- that, Nora," Ren gasped.

"But what if it _did_?" Nora asked. "I should ask Jaune next time I see him."

"But you- can't- see him," Pyrrha reminded.

Nora shrugged. "Eh- I'll be dead eventually," she cheerfully pointed out. "Just got to remember not to forget. I'll wait a lifetime for you, Jaune!" she shouted towards the sky.

"What I- want to know," Ren began. "Is-"

/

* * *

/

"-just how is it-"

"He, Weiss. He."

"Just how is it _he_ is staying up here so long?" Weiss demanded. "It must have been minutes already! How'd he even get up here in the first place?"

"That's- uh- that's a good question, Weiss. It was… a deathstalker, maybe?" Ruby asked, unsure.

"That's… not impossible, actually," Weiss admitted. "Deathstalkers have been known to throw the bodies of their victims long distances. If it-"

" ** _He_** , Weiss. Jaune is a guy."

"I'm referring to the deathstalker."

"Oh. Never mind, then."

"Quite. Anyways, if it- the deathstalker!- threw him into a low parabolic trajectory-"

"A para-what now?"

"A para- an _arc_. Thrown into an arc."

"Jaune got thrown into his own family?"

"What? No, I mean- a _curve_. Like throwing a ball."

"Oooh. Why didn't you just say that?"

"I- you know what? Never mind. Deathstalker spears corpse from tree, throws it far, body stays in the air long time before it falls."

"Oooh. That makes sense."

"Really? I can throw in a few grunts and groans to make it simpler for you. Lower myself to your level of understanding. Oo, oo, ah, ah."

"Ughwaaaaaa."

* * *

/

"We get it already, Weiss! You can stop now!" Yang shouted towards the sky.

"Is it me, or was that closer than last time?" Blake wondered.

/

* * *

/

"I thought that was a good try, Jaune," Ruby said sympathetically. "Don't feel bad."

"He- he- he-"

"And hey! At least she acknowledges you as a man now!"

"He _talked_!" Weiss exclaimed, pointing a shaking finger at Jaune.

"Er… yes?" Ruby asked. "And this changed since… when?"

"Really talked! A real, audible, noise, and not just crazy-person babble!"

"Hey!"

"Uoogh!"

"And it moved! Just there! I saw him move!"

"Didn't we already go over this at the tree earlier?"

"I'd already suppressed that memory, but that's not important! Ruby! Listen to me- don't you realize what this means?"

"Uh… no, actually. I feel like I'm the one confused now."

"It means _I'm not crazy!_ Neither of us are!"

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "Because-"

"Of course I'm sure, doofus! We're not crazy because _he's not dead._ He's alive, Ruby! He's alive! Mwahahaha!"

"Jaune? I think Weiss snapped…"

"Grahhh."

"You!" Weiss demanded, thrusting a finger over the still-flying Nevermore towards Jaune. "You're not actually dead, are you?"

Jaune's body tumbled once more.

"You're alive! Grievously injured, seriously harmed- but alive! Your semblance is keeping you alive, isn't it? It must be!" Weiss said. "Some variation of telekinesis? Something you could use to put your own body into stasis, even as it helps you move and stay in the air? That must be your semblance! It all makes sense now- beautiful, rational sense."

"Uh… Weiss? Are you alright?" Ruby asked, a tad concerned.

"Oh, never better Ruby," Weiss said, smiling brightly. "The world just makes sense again. Dust and semblances explain everything."

"That's… good?" Ruby guessed.

"Indeed. It really is fortunate that you have a telepathy semblance, Ruby," Weiss said. "Mr. Arc might never have been able to communicate with us otherwise."

"But I-"

"In fact, we should probably secure him post-haste. We wouldn't want any more damage to occur to his body," she reasoned.

"I'm not complaining," Ruby said, "but I thought you didn't like him?"

"Oh, I don't," Weiss assured.

"Uggggh," Jaune deflated. Or at least his lungs did.

"But I bear no ill will towards anyone who needs help," Weiss continued. "As future Huntresses, it's our _duty_ to restore him to life!"

"Oh. Okay," Ruby agreed, cheered a bit. She reached out with her scythe to hook Jaune, but Weiss pulled her back.

"Let's not damage the body if we can avoid it. It's probably best if we re-unite on the ground," Weiss suggested. "I believe that is our destination," she said, pointing to approaching ruins. "No need to cut up his body just before we jump," she reasoned.

Ruby looked skeptical, even if she wasn't concerned. "Can your glyphs catch all three of us?" she asked.

"Oh, no need," Weiss laughed lightly. "Mr. Arc can float down on his own. He'll be fine," Weiss assured.

"But-" Ruby began once more.

"No time to argue. Ladies first, as he would say!" Weiss said, maniacally cheerful to the last as a glyph threw Ruby off the Nevermore.

"Jaune! Don't worry, Jaune, we'll save you!" Ruby promised.

Jaune's body tumbled once more as it began its descent.

/

* * *

/

Yang could feel the tremors even before Blake heard the sounds.

"Someone's coming," Blake warned, getting to her feet. "Several someone's."

"'bout time," Yang said, blood starting to pump in anticipation. "I was dying of boredom over here. It was-"

There was a noise from above, and the girls looked up to see the screaming grimm… and the underside of two descending skirts.

"Ruby?" Yang recognized- somehow, considering all she could see were a pair of legs and the underside of a combat miniskirt.

"Did those two just ride in on a Nevermore?" Blake asked, taking a scroll photo from her own perspective.

(Someone in the not-so-distant future would be the proud owner of exclusive Schnee panty shot photos, with the proceeds going to a faunus rights charity… and a new copy of Ninja's of Love. The pages of her last volume were sticking together from all the frequent use, and Blake's revenge against the Schnees would make it feel all the better.)

The thought was chased from her mind with the crash of trees from the other side of the clearing, as three more people raced out of it followed by their own Grimm.

"Did those three run all the way here chased by a Nightstalker?" Blake asked as well, taking a picture of them for good measure.

The three were pointing in their direction- and shouting.

"Jaune!" they shouted.

"Pyrrha?" Yang shouted back in confusion, recognizing the amazon.

"Yang!" Ruby called from above.

"Ruby!" Yang called in return, even as Ruby managed her landing strategy onto a tree.

"Weiss?" Blake recognized, noting how the girl was unharmed.

"Pyrrha?" Weiss called from above, using a glyphs to slow her descent.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted back, pointing.

"Jaune?" Weiss echoed.

"Jaune!" Ruby remembered.

"Caw!" the Nevermore screamed from above- pathetically compared to the earlier screams.

Still, it was enough- a cauldron of confusion and chaos that set one of them over the edge.

"Grrr! I can't take it any more!" Yang exploded- literally, with fire and everything. "Could everyone chill out for five seconds? And shut up about Jaune?"

There was a beat. Five.

"ButYangIcan'twait-"

The three-incoming initiates were still pointing up.

Four

"Ireallyneedyourhelp-"

Blake looked up, and her eyes widened. "Shouldn't we-"

Three

"-tocatchJaunehe's-"

"It's fine," Weiss assured. "After all,-"

Two

"-kindofaghost-"

"-Mr. Arc has-"

One

"-butnotimaginary."

"-his semblance."

Zero

"See?" Weiss asked, as Jaune slammed into Remnant in front of her and splattered.

/

* * *

/

" _Damn it_ Weiss, we're right beside you!"

/

* * *

/

End Week Three

/

* * *

/

Author Note:

Another glorious chapter. Self-editing, no beta-ing, and all that. Next chapter will be a bit longer- I've got all weekend to write before a major road trip- and hopefully I'll finish the initiation arc.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I (still) don't own RWBY. And if I did, and RWBY were like this, it'd be rated M for gore alone.

/

* * *

/

When the Bodies Hit the Floor

/

Jaune hit the ground like a watermelon dropped on concrete.

Actually, take that back. Watermelons explode if they hit concrete hard enough or dropped from too high, and the round shape called to mind one's head, which might give the wrong impression.

Jaune's head did not explode like a red water balloon. And the soft, succulent earth that his body ate on impact didn't have the hardness of concrete, even if he lost a tooth to a pebble. Then there was the angle of impact- not a straight drop. It was more of a tumble, really- like skipping a stone on water.

Well, less a stone and more a bending, breaky, not-supposed-to-be-that-flexible red water balloon. Or meat-bag of sausage.

The face hit first, but the back snapped louder, bending the body in half in a way it never should. Great pressure was pressed on the chest- protected as it was by armor- as the innards went whichever way they could. A small amount of bile and the remains of yesterday's dinner were pressed up- but Jaune didn't re-gain the title vomit boy because there were quicker, and easier ways for the bile to escape as his Mistrali neck-piercings became outies and not innies. The rest of his stomach- which is to say, his actual stomach and most of the rest of his guts- were pushed in the other direction, down towards the Deathstinger-shaped cavity of his lower sternum. The bending of the back- right opposite of the tear in his stomach- and the immense pressure of moment led to one predictable result as Jaune ate dirt.

Ever squeezed a sausage? One with a tear? Jaune hitting the ground was kind of like that. Except gushier.

In a lot fewer words- Jaune splattered.

Team RWBY had a front-row view, in the sense that the guts and gizards came for their eyes first. But Team JNPR-to-be wasn't left wanting- Jaune's body skipped, and tumbled, and tackled the three of them in one chaotic tumble that was half-catch of their departed friend, and half bowling ball crashing through the ranks.

The three tumbled- and that might have spelled doom for them with the Deathstalker- were it not so stunned by the earlier brown note scream that the blond body's knocked it back. Little Nevermores flew around each of the beady eyes as it was stunned.

With the moment of breathing space it provided, both teams had time to comprehend and have first impressions.

Yang was the first, and kept her priorities straight. "Gross gross gross, it's on my shoes! And in my hair!" the former blonde, now more of a strawberry, complained. "And I don't even want to know what **_it_** is!"

Weiss, after the brown note subsided, quickly shut down her mind and rebooted. All memory files were scrubbed, rationality was restored- and suddenly things didn't seem so bad anymore. Jaune's semblance explained everything. He'd be fine! And if he wasn't… any memories to the contrary, any suggestions that she might have done anything differently, were conveniently edited as appropriate.

Blake was more sincerely catatonic. Not from the sight of the boy's fall, but from what happened when she let instinct take over from shock. Blake nervously licked her lips again- still in shock at the terrifyingly tantalizing taste.

Ruby, the quickest of them, had been the first to brace herself and the first to recover. Lowering her cape, she smiled as she inspected it- no guts on her! Which meant she didn't have to wash her cape either. Ah red capes: they don't get bloody, they just get redder!

Closer towards the Grimm, team JNPR staggered to their feet.

Nora laughed. "Steeer-ike!" she announced. "Way to go, Jaune!" If she noticed, or minded, the red splattered across her maniac face, she gave no indication. It certainly gave her a more menacing appearance when she continued, though. "Maybe next time we bowl, _I'll use your head._ "

"I don't think bowling works that way," Ren muttered. "Anymore, at least." He took note of the splattered blood on his clothes, but dismissed it- easy enough to claim it was just dirt. At least he'd have an excuse if anyone commented on his pink eyes. "Where's Jaune?" he asked, looking around for the aura-glow only he could see.

Jaune was fine- or at least his ghost was. "I've lost my lunch before," the ghost-boy admitted, though only one could hear him. "But never when it was still in my stomach. Is that it over there?" he wondered. "I was never good at human anatomy."

Pyrrha, no stranger to a little blood, paid it no mind. Hers was the most skilled tumble- the quickest back on her feet- and her mind raced as she took in the situation. Analyzing combatants, looking for opportunities, calculating the odds as she checked for threats.

Her eyes widened. "Jaune!" she cried.

Above his corpse, the Deathstalker shook itself alert and roared.

/

Guardian Spirit

/

"Don't let it destroy the body!" the green-robed boy cried. Yang didn't know who he was exactly, but she assumed he was a friend of Jaune's. Same with the pink-haired girl, and… Pyrrha?

"Covering fire!" Ruby called, unloading rounds from Crescent Rose onto the Deathstalker. "We have to distract it!"

Yang didn't know about 'have to', per see- the spread of guts and gore kindof put a damper on any hope that the blonde boy was just playing dead- but she was kind of glad to see Weiss and Blake follow Ruby's command, sending beams and bullets against the beast. Yang threw some shells as well, and while the explosion didn't hurt the monster it certainly distracted it.

"What next?" she asked her sister as the monster made its way towards them. "Fall back, or fight?" She wanted to see how her sister handled this- let her assert herself if she had a plan.

"Keep its attention on us," Ruby directed. "If we can draw it away, then they can get Jaune and-"

What Pyrrha and her two allies were supposed to do wasn't clear, because the three of them began firing as well- into the sky, where a giant bird of murder was circling around.

"Watch out!" Blake warned as feathers rained from the sky. The bird took about as much damage from the other team as the deathstalker took from them- but it broke its position soon enough.

"Leave it to me," Weiss commanded, waving her sword like a conductor's wand. A glow of blue, a sigil, and an iceberg grew from nothing, providing shelter that they were able to hide behind. Yang silently approved- her opinion of the white-dressed girl was low, but she seemed to naturally look out for Ruby when making that cover. Perhaps their time together had done them both some good?

The four of them were safe from the bird, but their initial goal had been lost- the Deathstalker had returned its attention to Jaune's three friends, chasing them away from Jaune's body. Already from the desperate dodging and weaving, Yang could tell that there was serious power behind the claws.

"Fire again!" Ruby directed, urging them to get its attention again. But again the events repeated themselves- they got the Deathstalker's attention, but the Nevermore circled and made an attack run that made them dodge behind Weiss's ice-cover. By the time it passed, the Deathstalker's attention was again on Team Jaune. Even though the three had divided and were flanking it- hitting it from all sides- they still couldn't draw it away.

"I don't think this is working!" Yang exclaimed after the third time. "We're just going to run out of ammo!" As much as she hated the idea of leaving a fallen comrade- well, acquaintance, really- she didn't see much of a choice. Unless Jaune grew wings and flew away…

"Jaune, just run! We'll cover you!" Ruby shouted.

Yang and Blake traded quick glances. Maybe this was too much to ask of Ruby- to leave a fallen friend who-

Yang blinked, and rubbed her eyes. Where was- was that- was that Jaune getting up? "Was he playing dead?" she asked- but started throwing shells with a renewed vigor.

Blake saw it too. "How did he survive the fall?" she asked, taking aim to not waste rounds. She took a second look at the long, blood-stained streak on the ground- and the guts that were here and there.

"Semblance. Knew it!" Weiss crowed from beside them. "It's all quite reasonable, really," Weiss said.

"Er, right," Yang agreed. "It- shit, it saw him!" she called out.

Indeed it had- while Jaune picked himself up and started to move towards them, the Deathstalker once again turned its attention- and saw Jaune. Even from the distance Yang could hear Team Jaune's yells as they tried to get the monster's attention again- saw a pink explosion rock the beast.

Yang wasn't the only one who let loose a breath of relief as the Deathstalker turned once more. "Can't he hurry it up?" she worried. "Why's he stumbling so slow?"

"How fast could you walk after that landing strategy?" Blake asked. "I think I saw a lung pop out."

"Eyes up!" Ruby warned. "Nevermore!"

The bird was back, but Yang noticed it wasn't on the same paths as before. It course was changed, it was- "It's going for Jaune!" she realized.

"Suppresive fire!" Ruby called, but their efforts did no good- the Nevermore let loose another fury of feathers, which speared the ground with murderous intent. Team Jaune managed to duck and weave, somehow- but Jaune did not. First a calf, then the other knee, and then a proliferation of perforations through the chest.

"It got him!" Weiss realized.

Jaune was pinned- but even that didn't stop him. The blond boy drew his sword, and began chopping at the Nevermore feathers- slowly cutting himself free one impalement at a time.

"The Deathstalker's going for him!" With the distraction the Nevermore had provided against Jaune's friends, the Deathstalker turned towards weaker prey. It ignored what little pinpricks they could give- bullets pinging off- and closed in on Jaune.

"I've got to go!" Ruby exclaimed, preparing to run out there.

"Ruby! Wait! It's too dangerous!" Weiss warned in alarm. But Ruby ignored her- ignored all of them- and sprinted out there with a blast from Crescent Rose.

Yang was right behind her- too slow to stop her, but too much of a sister to let her go alone. "Ruby! Don't be reckless!"

But of course she was- she was Ruby, and Ruby wouldn't slow down when someone was in trouble. And in trouble Jaune was- still pinned, the Deathstalker caught him easily and the boy had to defend himself rather than free himself. A blow of the stinger was barely diverted with another pink explosion- and even Yang could see the wobble of damage at the tip- but it was far from a fatal wound.

Ruby accelerated- three more blasts from Crescent Rose propelling her- but she was to be too late. A blow from the claws sent his guard flying. The other set of claws caught him- secured him by the chest-plate- and soon both sets of claws secured him and lifted Jaune from where he had been nailed to the ground. Jaune's weapons clattered to the ground as his body was raised.

With a bestial scream, the Deathstalker raised itself high off the ground ripped Jaune apart. It couldn't break the armor- only crush an arm- but the claw above the waist had no such issue. Body, arms, limbs- blood fell from the sky as both claws did their bloody work.

Ruby screamed. Or maybe it was a roar. There were more gunshots, and more speed, and even Yang could only see the red-caped blur dart beneath the beast. No sooner had it passed than four legs flew off- and in a gunshot and a return blur, the other four as well. Ruby was through and back before the first side could fall.

It was so fast, Yang could barely tell what happened. It was so fast, the Deathstalker didn't even scream in pain until Ruby was done.

Yang was impressed- proud even at the mobility kill- but even more worried. "Ruby, get out of there!" she shouted, still catching up. "There's nothing more you can do!"

Jaune was dead- he had to be after that- but the Deathstalker was still alive. Immobilized or not, if Ruby stayed in range-

"I can still hear him! He's still alive!" Ruby protested- and dashed through the space infront of the Deathstalker. It's tale impaled the ground- too slow, as Ruby plundered a dismembered limb from the pile in front of it. "I'm not leaving him behind!"

"It's just a body!" Yang shouted. "Ruby, this isn't one of your imaginary friends!"

"He's not imaginary!" Ruby shouted back. "He's Jaune!"

"Jaune wouldn't want you hurt!" Yang tried to reason. Ruby paid her sister, any anyone else, no mind- using her semblance to dart in and out of range of the Deathstalker, bring back bits and pieces of Jaune with her.

"Nevermore!" Blake shouted from a distance as it made another pass over the fallen Grimm, right as Ruby made another pass. Feathers bounced off of carapace- meat was speared- and a red blur stopped all too suddenly, right infront of the monster she had so recently immobilized. Ruby was stunned, choked by her own cape in the abrupt stop.

"Ruby!"

Yang was too far away, just outside the rows and rows of impaled feathers. She could see the beady eyes focus on Ruby. She could see the still-wobbling tail prepare to stab forward. She could even see Ruby come to and struggle, only to realize she was trapped by her own pinned cloak.

 _Please, dust, anyone!_ Yang begged in her own mind as her heart skipped a beat in fear. _Don't let her die!_

She stretched out her hand, desperately reaching for her sister. _Save her!_

There was a rattle- a hint of movement- and the tale impaled in the dirt. But there was no pained scream. A shield- Jaune's shield- hovered against the side of the tail from the air, pushing the massive tail ever so slightly away from the unharmed girl beneath it.

There was a stunned silence- even the Grimm seemed surprised at how it missed- but its tail was too deep, too extended. It struggled to free itself, but before it could Crocea Mors- the sword, the other half of Jaune's weapon- flew through the air. It sliced in an arc, cutting to, cutting _through_ , the base of the already damaged stinger. The tail withdrew in hissing pain- the severed tip remained in the ground.

Sword and shield returned together, and hovered in front of Ruby protectively. No hand held them- but somehow Yang knew that they were as firmly held as any living person could.

"Jaune?"

That was Ruby- not her- but the sound was enough to remind her to stagger her forward. Yang leapt over the feathers to her sister's side, and began to pull her cape free of the ones that pinned her. Out of the side of her vision, she saw a claw come in an overpowering swing. She didn't try to dodge- didn't stop what she was doing- even though the memory of what had happened to Jaune flashed past her eyes.

It didn't matter. She was the big sister. As long as she got Ruby free- as long as Ruby was safe- the rest didn't matter. Those were good last thoughts as she pulled the last feather free. Those were her last thoughts before the movement of metal came into her vision, and the thud as claws impacted and bounced off the shield. Jaune's sword followed the block with a slash- doing no real damage to the claw, but pushing it away and allowing Yang to reach down for Ruby.

There was a deathly chill as she did so- as she passed between sword and shield where a person might be- but Yang didn't care as she grabbed Ruby. The sword and shield remained protectively in front of them all the while.

Ruby- still dazed- seemed to come together as she was dragged to safety. Maybe it was the hair.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, sounding small and weak, wits scattered. "What-?"

"Jaune," she whispered into Ruby's ear as she dragged her sister to safety in a desperate bear hug, "is your best imaginary friend yet."

/

 ** _Ruby! Get up!_**

That's what she heard- or remembered hearing after nearly hanging herself on her own cloak. Not the familiar voice of her sister- filled with fear and worry as the monsters approached- but someone newer. Deeper. And with that tenor- that affect- of being heard as much inside her mind as her ears.

 ** _Oh no you don't!_**

The monster had tried to kill her. The weapons- those classics he hadn't considered heirlooms- they'd… defended her. She's seen them float. She saw them swing. She heard **_them_** \- not the body she'd been hearing before- and they sounded like-

"Jaune?"

 **Yang! I'll hold it off- get her out of here!**

She couldn't understand why she couldn't move- couldn't figure out why, her wits were so scattered. The monster before her loomed over her, but so did the sword and shield- smaller, safer, between her and it. There were moments of chill- calling to mind a cherished grave in winter- but it was safe. Not scary- even before a familiar warmth grabbed her and blond hair entered her vision.

"Yang?" Ruby managed, mind still swimming. "What-?"

The warmth felt stronger- tighter. "Jaune," Yang's voice cracked in relief, "is your best imaginary friend yet."

 **I'm not imaginary.**

"He's not imaginary," Ruby echoed, and remembered she had already said it, just as she had all the other voices. "He's here."

"She's right," a new voice said. "He's not imaginary, even if he's not alive." It was the boy in green, who was looking at her with distinctive lightish red eyes. "He's a ghost. Are you alright?" he asked Ruby.

"What do you mean, ghost?" Yang asked, before holding Ruby even more protectively. "If you're trying to make fun of my sister-"

 **Ren knows what he's talking about. He's a good guy.**

"You're… Ren, aren't you?" Ruby asked.

Yang loosened her hold. "You know him, Ruby?" she asked.

"No," Ruby denied, shaking her head. "But Jaune does."

"So you can hear him," Ren confirmed. "You must have had a tough time," he said, sympathetic.

"Can you hear them too?" Ruby asked, a bit hopeful.

Ren smiled. "No," he admitted, "but I can see them."

Yang just looked at him. "I'm not sure what's going on," she admitted, she admitted, "but I don't care. Any no-body-"

 **Hey! That's- fair, actually.**

"-who saves Ruby is good in my book. What next?" she asked.

 **Ruby? Nevermore is circling around.** The Crocea Mors clashed against itself in the air, sword scraping on shield before pointing at the giant avian.

"We need to get out of the open, before the Nevermore gets back," Ruby said, getting to her feet with a helpful lift from Yang. "Take cover in the forest."

"And, er, Jaune?" Yang asked, indicating the floating sword and shield. "Can he make it?"

"Bring his body back. As much as you can," Ren said, ignoring the gruesome ground as he picked up the gibbits he could. "The closer a spirit is to its body, the better."

Ruby went for the biggest piece she could- Jaune's upper body. One arm had been crushed and torn off. Everything below the stomach was gone, ripped away. Even the chest piece was crushed in. But it was intact, with one broken arm and an intact head.

She tried- and she probably could have lifted it- but a much stronger arm reached down and pulled Jaune up in one move. With a single shrug, Yang threw the body onto her back behind her- holding the one arm against her chest with her opposite hand, and letting the broken neck rest over her shoulder.

For a moment, Ruby remembered piggyback rides from long ago, when Yang would carry her back home when she was tired.

"Just so you know," Yang told the broken body, "I normally don't let guys bleed on me till the second date. You're just lucky that you saved Ruby." Even so, she gave him a warning glare. "Still- vomit on my hair, and you're dead. Again. Got that?"

 **Er, Yang? Look down.**

Yang didn't, but Ruby did, and blanched. "I don't think you have to worry about that, Yang," she reassured.

"Huh? Why's that?" Yang asked.

"Because I think you're standing on what's left of his stomach."

/

Chasing after Ghosts

/

Jaune led the group as they continued their way north. Well, kinda- not that anyone but Ren could see him, but he was ahead of them. Scouting for Grimm, checking the sky for the Nevermore as they dashed through the trees.

Jaune stepped into the clearing, and looked up. All clear, so he waved Ren forward.

"All clear," Ren passed on, and so it was. The group moved forward- and what a gruesome group it was. Covered in sweat, and grime, and blood. His blood, of course, and his other parts that no one really wanted to think about.

The smaller pieces they'd passed around. Blake- who somehow still had the cleanest fingers of all of them- had volunteered her snack pouches to hold the gorey-er… gore. But the main body parts- well, Yang still carried his torso. And Pyrrha had taken other arm from Ruby. And his legs-

Well his legs were more or less intact. Still together inside his jeans, at least. And they were being carried by Nora. It's just… well, there was no good way to carry a full set of pants, he supposed, but did she have to wrap them around her waist like a fanny pack? Sure, she got to tie his shoe laces together to keep her arms free, but every time this fanny pack bounced it was fanny on fanny…

Wishing he still had the guts to have a libido to appreciate that- or that he still had all of his guts at all- Jaune listened to his friends- if dead people still get to claim that- banter.

"I'm impressed, Yang," Weiss was saying. "I didn't think you'd dirty your hair for… that," she admitted.

"Don't remind me," Yang groused, unhappy. "But he saved Ruby, so I owe him one. I claim first shower when we get back, though."

"You need it," Weiss said without pity. "He's still dripping. How disgusting."

"You know what, Weiss? Maybe you should look at your own face first," Yang suggested.

Weiss immediately brought a still-bloody sleeve to her face to wipe it. "Is there something there? There's still something there, isn't there? I don't want him all over my face!"

"Here, let me look," Yang offered, and Weiss lowered her arm.

"There you go," Yang said, even as she flicked a gore-stained hand towards the Heiress's face.

/

"That sounded like Ms. Schnee again," Glynda Goodwitch noted. "No matter what her records say, I'm not sure she's cut out for this line of work."

"Indeed," Professor Ozpin noted, taking a sip from his ever-present coffee mug. "Hunters must learn to walk bravely with death as a constant companion."

Glynda let a silence follow, before she asked a rather relevant question.

"Have you thought of how you'll alert the Arcs to their son's… condition?" she asked.

"…please let me enjoy my coffee, Glynda," Ozpin dodged.

/

"-it's in my mouth it's in my mouth-"

"Well if you didn't want any Arc inside you, maybe you shouldn't have swallowed!" Yang taunted.

Everyone else- even Jaune- tried to ignore them as they quickly recovered from the brown note.

"Thanks for sharing your snack pouches for Jaune," Ruby thanked Blake. "Are you sure you're not going to get hungry?"

"I, uh, think I'll be fine," Blake reassured with a nervous laugh, licking her lips.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren were having their own conversation.

"So how did you and Jaune meet?" Ren asked. "I assume he wasn't alive when you first met him?"

"Huh? Oh- well, he was alive this morning before initiation. But when we met in the woods, he was already, you know-"

"So how did Jaune end up like that?" Nora was asked. "Did you see his killer?"

"No, I didn't see them," Pyrrha laughed weekly as she slowed down somewhat.

"Hm," Ren considered. "That means his killer is still on the loose. That's not good," he said. "We best be careful. We wouldn't want our backs to a murderer within Beacon."

"No, we would not," Pyrrha agreed from behind.

"I wonder if Jaune knows. He could tell Ruby and- wait!" he called, just as Ruby called the same thing. Jaune had signaled them both.

The group crept forward carefully to the edge of the treeline. It wasn't a simple clearing- it was a massive chasm, far, far too large to even think about jumping across.

"Guess we know where we have to cross," Yang said, nodding towards a stone bridge by some ruins.

"We'll have to get past that first," Weiss said, pointing towards the Nevermore perched on the ruins. It hadn't seen them yet- but by way it watched the bridged, it knew there was only one way they could pass. "I doubt there are any other bridges around," she weighed in.

"I think- I think we could rush past," Ruby said. "If we can get to the ruins, we can dodge through them and make it to the woods on the far side."

Yang frowned. "You might make it, sis, but I've running for two here," she said, popping Jaune's body up a bit with a shrug. "Well, one and a half."

"We could sneak closer," Blake suggested. "Shorten the distance."

"We'd still need a diversion," Pyrrha said. "Something to take its attention off the bridge. I could probably make the shot."

"Me too!" Ruby said, patting her collapsible sniper-scythe.

"We'd still have the risk of it destroying the bridge," Ren cautioned. "We can't risk being separated- we all need to cross," he reminded.

The group fell silent.

 **I could try,** Jaune volunteered. **Being the distraction.**

"Jaune?" Ruby asked.

Rather than explain it to be conveyed, Jaune picked up Crocea Mors... and stepped out and over the chasm.

It didn't fall. He didn't fall. Because he was a ghost, bitches, and ghosts float.

The Nevermore, watching the bridge, never noticed.

Ruby felt a grin came across her face. It was anticipatory, even predatory.

"Who's up for carving a bird?" Ruby asked.

/

"How's he doing, Mr. 'I see dead people'? Can you see Jaune?" Yang asked as they hid in the bushes closest to the bridge.

"He's right there, Yang," Nora said innocently, pointing at Jaune's corpse on Yang's back. There was a touch less playfulness when she continued. "And his name is Ren."

"I meant- never mind. Sorry, Ren," she apologized. She knew how she'd have reacted whenever someone else teased Ruby about her imaginary friends. Who, apparently, weren't.

"He crossed, but he's out of sight now," Ren answered, giving no sign of offense. "He went behind the ruins."

"Good," Pyrrha said from her spot. "If he can cripple it from the start, this will go a whole lot easier."

It was a simple case of reasoning. Birds had to flap their wings to fly. The muscles to do so were important. If you cut just one key muscle- crippled just one wing- then a giant bird of murder became of seething, but grounded collection of murderous intent.

None of them knew if it would work like they'd planned- after all, none of them had taken any Grimm Anatomy classes or anything- but it could work. And if it did, it'd be their victory.

"I think I see him," Ruby called out, straining down the sights of her sniper rifle. "Or his weapon, at least."

"One object or two?" Blake asked.

"Two."

"Good," Blake said. That meant he'd already drawn the sword- less risk of the sound alerting the prey.

Weiss agreed. "If he pulls this off, I'll actually be impressed," she said. "All he has to do now is not screw up."

/

For the record, technically he didn't screw up.

Jaune remembered what they'd talked about. Remembered the plan about wing muscles and what to look for. Remembered the importance of slowing circling around, out of sight as much as possible. Even remembered Blake's worryingly effective murder advice.

Floating was- floating was slow, but manageable as long as he didn't look down as he crossed the chasm. He might get better at it one day, but for now it was enough. He'd crossed the chasm. He'd looped around. He even floated above and behind the Nevermore, spotting the right muscle and slowly approaching, sword raised.

Then the wind turned, and the Nevermore's head pivoted until the masked face stared at him directly.

It must have been the smell of guts on the weapons. It must have been. Even if it didn't see him, it certainly saw the weapons ready to strike. But that wasn't what scared Jaune, though.

The Nevermore stared at **_him_** \- not the sword and shield he held in his ghostly hands.

"Crud!" Jaune sword, eyes wide, and struck while he still could.

The Nevermore screamed and thrust its wings wide, even before Jaune's blade sun in. It wasn't the point he'd been aiming for, but the bird's scream took a pained sound as it leapt into the sky.

Jaune- as attached to his weapons as he'd be his own body- was dragged along into the sky. At least he had nothing to throw up this time.

/

"It noticed! Run!" Blake was the first to see, jumping to her feet even before it screamed.

"Everyone across the bridge!" Ruby ordered. "Run!"

"Where's Jaune?" Pyrrha asked Ren as they ran.

Ren looked up at the Nevermore, and saw the ghostly glimmer with a metallic shine. "On the Nevermore! I think he got a strike in!"

"Aw, I wanted to ride a giant monster of Grimm," Nora pouted, jealous.

"I can't believe the dolt screwed up!" Weiss complained as they crossed the first stone blocks. "He was so close!"

"For the record," Yang said, keeping a steady pace despite her cargo, "I'm blaming you."

"Me?" Weiss protested. "What did I do?"

"Tempted fate!" almost everyone else answered in unison.

Weiss pouted. "No need to gang up on me," she muttered self-pityingly as she ran.

"Watch out!" Ruby warned- she'd already used her semblance to get far ahead of them and turn around, so she had the best angle to see the Nevermore circle around them from behind. The bridge had become a trap- a single path that it could shoot it's feathers down and catch them all.

"Weiss! Ice shield!" Ruby called out.

"On it!" Weiss followed- another column of ice springing up and protecting the slowest of their group from the storm of feathers. Some, though, were too far forward.

Yang saw the feather with her name on it. Yang braced for an impact- for something that would go through both Jaune's body and her- but red hair flew into her vision and Pyrrha's shield took the blow.

It saved her- but it was a bad angle for Pyrrha, and the momentum of the blocked blow sent her spinning into Yang, who stumbled towards and over the side of the bridge. One hand had a brief, awkward hold on the side.

"Yang!" Ruby cried out, afraid.

Pyrrha was there- secured the hand even as she braced herself and the shield for more feathers- but the cost was Yang swinging into the stonework face-first. She was dazed- her hair simmered with fire as her semblance kicked in- but in that moment her grip involuntarily loosened.

"Jaune!" Yang cried in horror as the body she'd been carrying slipped from her grip and fell behind her.

"Got him!" a voice from above claimed, and a black ribbon flew by Yang's face as Blake's weapon raced downwards. With a grip and a gunshot, Gambol Shroud wrapped around the only part of Jaune it could and secured.

There was an audible snap as Jaune's body- what was left of it- came to a sudden, fatal, stop and swung by the neck.

Yang looked up at Blake with a raised eyebrow. Blake looked down at Yang, and looked a little embarrassed- and not just because stopping the body's fall had dragged her off her feet and almost over the ledge herself. "He was dead like that when I found him?" she claimed.

"Just don't catch me like that," Yang warned, even as she began to pull herself up.

Meanwhile, the defense above was struggling- even as Pyrrha's shield and Ren's aura-projecting hands protected Yang and Blake.

"It's too high! Nora, make it move!" Ren called out, realizing the angle of the Grimm would allow it to shoot over the ice barrier.

Nora took out her weapon in its grenade-launcher mode, firing a salvo of heart-painted grenades towards the bird. The linearity of the bridge worked against her, though- one of the countless feathers pierced the grenade and caused the dust to explode early, sending feathers everywhere but doing nothing to the bird. That clearing of feathers, though- even for just a moment- opened the shot Ruby had been waiting for- a high-velocity round screeched through, and the high-explosive dust struck the Grimm in the mask, stunning it for just a moment.

That pause in midair was enough for the follow-up- Ren saw a flash of ghostly aura, and Jaune's sword freed itself from the Nevermore's wing and stabbed it straight in the back, again and again and again, until the Nevermore screeched and broke position, circling around.

"Come on, we've got to go!" Weiss shouted as she caught up. A simple glyph gave Yang the boost she needed to get up, where she then grabbed Gambol Shroud's tether and helped Blake stand to wind in Jaune.

"Don't let it hit the bridge!" Ruby warned, firing more rounds towards the bird as it began a glide-in charge from the side.

There was something off, though- it was too low if it was intending to tackle them off the bridge. It could only be-

"It's going for Jaune!" Pyrrha realized, even as all of those that could started to unleash their ranged abilities on the monster. It didn't matter- despite the blade still hanging in its shoulder, despite the shield that gave it love taps from behind, the Nevermore flew through their assault and headed towards Jaune's swinging body, like a fish towards a worm on a hook.

"Blake, let go!" Yang warned, foreseeing the problem.

"I can't!" Blake shouted, afraid. "It's wrapped!" And it was- around her arm, so that she wouldn't drop Jaune in the catch if she wanted to. And she didn't want to- that wasn't the sort of person she wanted to be anymore- even as her life flashed before her eyes as she saw what would come next. The bird would grab Jaune. Gambol Shroud would drag her- and if it didn't kill her by ripping her arms out, dragging her into and through the stone certainly would.

One way out occurred to her.

"Weiss! Glyph!" she cried, hoping- trusting- that the Schnee would understand her meaning. That despite their earlier acrimony, that the spoiled girl had something of a Huntress and will to do good inside of her.

Weiss's eyes widened in realization, and nodded. "Got it!" she said. Blake let a sigh of relief as Weiss concentrated. If Weiss put a repulsion glyph under Jaune- bounced him so that the bird would miss-

Weiss summoned a glyph and threw her off instead.

"Blake!" Yang screamed in shock, before spinning around to grab the smaller girl next to her in rage. "Did you just murder my partner?" she screamed at Weiss.

"I-" Weiss began.

"Did you just murder my partner!" Yang yelled again, shaking.

"I saved her!" Weiss claimed. "Look!"

Below, Blake had already spun around and controlled her fall like a cat. Popping out a clone, Blake used it as a jump pad to orient and gain forward momentum- in line with the Nevermore, and safely below the bridge.

"Oh," Yang said, realizing that her partner wasn't about to become paste on cobble stone. "We should probably move before it hits the supports, shouldn't we?"

Four of them did- but one of them didn't. Instead of running towards the safety of Ruby, Pyrrha turned adjacent and ran towards the opposite side of the bridge as the approaching nevermore- and jumped.

"Blake! Clones!" she shouted down below, and a number of things happened.

The Nevermore reached Jaune's body, consuming him in a single bite.

Gambol Shroud was not caught, but trailed out of the Nevermore's mouth and behind it like a fish on a hook.

The Nevermore slammed through the support columns like a fish through reeds, breaking through them with ease. It slowed, but it didn't think it a problem, if it thought at all. The bridge above crumbled just after Pyrrha's leapt- stones below fell towards Blake.

Blake, the fisherwoman in this analogy, was dragged along- but, prepared as she was, able to keep both hands on her ribbon and steer between the stone columns. Not only did she steer between rubble, but ran along and danced between falling debris, gaining control and jumping closer to the Nevermore's body.

As she did, she heard and followed Pyrrha's instruction, making clones- which served as Pyrrha's landing point and jumping blocks, just as Blake had used one earlier. Pyrrha jumped before it could dissipate- and Blake, realizing what was needed, made more even as she dragged herself forward along gambol shroud's line.

So Pyrrha ran up the crumbling staircase of Blake clones, chasing the Nevermore, even as Blake dragged herself forward up along gambol shroud's line. When Blake was close enough to grab the tail feathers- to secure herself like Ruby and Weiss had done much earlier- Pyrrha kept running forward. Momentum that wasn't hers alone countered the wind resistance, and using the ribbon as a guideline she ran up past the wings, and past Jaune's blade and shield that were still holding to the wing.

"Jaune! Get to your body!" Pyrrha called, even as she continued to run forward. The sword stayed where it was, stuck in the Grimm- but the shield stopped it's unnatural gripless hold on the Grimm. It collapsed in a flash, and tumbled behind Pyrrha as she continued forward and jumped onto the Nevermore's mask.

It stared at her for a moment- alien mind uncomprehending the how or why- and Pyrrha took the opportunity to stab an eye out so it would do what she really wanted. It screamed in pain, and in doing so it opened its mouth.

Magnetic semblance pulling her so she could jump backwards just so to get around the beak, Pyrrha jumped into the maw.

Her shield arm braced the roof. Her heels dug deep into its lower jaw. And her hand found Gambol Shroud's tether, and pulled.

Deep inside the Nevermore's gullet, Jaune's body slid forward. A moment leader- and a shriek from the Grimm as an unnatural chill passed through- the one arm of the body began to move. There were spasms as it did so- if Ren was there, he'd swear he saw flickers of pain in Jaune's ghostly face- but even so Jaune's body pulled on its end of the teather, dragging itself out.

Pyrrha pulled, and she pulled, taking the slack given and passing it onto Blake even as she saw Jaune's body draw closer. Its movement came as a relief, not a horror. Above, she could barely hear Blake's shouts as the girl approached.

"Pyrrha!" Blake was calling, having figured out her intent. "Do you have him?"

"Almost!" Pyrrha grunted. He was a bit out of reach. "Do you have his weapon?" she asked in return.

"You mean his shield?" Blake asked. "It almost hit me in the face, but I caught it! The sword's back there, though!"

Damn. She'd been afraid he'd lose one or the other, but it couldn't be helped. Jaune's body was finally in reach- and grabbed her. Despite the deathly strength of the grip, she felt no fear, and carefully unwrapped gambol shroud from his neck. From above, Blake reeled in her line and prepared for their landing strategy- whatever it might be.

"Hang on, Jaune," she whispered. It might be hard, but with the tools they had- she could use her semblance to jump off Jaune's shield and her own, while Blake landed via clone. If she could just drag him out-

The Nevermore wasn't so obliging. A brief shout from Blake was her only warning she had before it lowered its head and rammed… something. Even though it braced itself- and her- the shock stumbled them. Jaune lost his grip, but was still in Pyrrha's free arm.

And then the Nevermore threw its head back and screamed. The sound wave rattled her enough to destroy what was left of her hold. Pyrrha watched in horror as Jaune- body and spirit- slid into the Grimm's gullet.

Another throw of its head, and Pyrrha was thrown up and out of the maw. Blake caught her in their sudden free fall- sinking Gambol Shroud into one of columns of the ruins they happened to be back near- and swinging both of them to the ground inside the ruins that the rest were taking shelter in.

The landed. They tumbled. Pyrrha protected herself and came to her feet, but it was an automatic, mechanical motion.

Their friends came to them- Yang to Blake, Ren and Nora to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha? Are you alright?" Nora asked, concerned at the defeated expression on the Champion.

"I don't see- I don't see him with you. Where's Jaune?" Ren asked, concern plain in his eyes.

Blake, silently, held forth the empty scabbard of Crocea Mors.

"You mean-" Yang began, a cultural horror evident despite the earlier nonchalance of blood and gore, "it really ate-?"

Flying over them, the Nevermore screamed, triumphant.

But it was nothing to pained screams from beside them.

/

"That… was not Ms. Schnee," Glynda recognized, as any who had heard the brown note so many times would. "That sounded more like Ms. Rose."

"And Lie Ren," Ozpin grunted as he took another sip, but made no other move.

There was an uncomfortable silence that Glynda felt that she must break.

"Do you… do you suppose we should send in a teacher to assist them?" Glynda asked, uncharacteristically concerned. "They _have_ already completed their mission by collecting the relics, after all," she reasoned. "And a Grimm of that level is far beyond what they can be expected to handle."

Ozpin delayed his response by taking another sip of coffee. Possibly to consider a bit further- possible to troll whoever was listening by putting an unnecessary pause before his answer. Anything to build suspense. Like so. An entire paragraph of delay, a joke that only works by casually leaning on the fourth wall.

"No, not yet," Ozpin decided. "I want to see what they choose to do. Hunters must learn to walk bravely with death as a constant companion, after all," he repeated.

Glynda gave him a look. "Are you doing this just so you can tell the Arcs he died to Grimm rather than your landing strategy exam?" she ultimately asked.

"Of course not," Ozpin demurred "What was the saying, Glynda?" he asked, humming a rhythm whose origin had been long forgotten.

"And with strange avians, even the dead may die?"

/

* * *

/

End Week Four

/

* * *

/

Author Note:

Next update: the (actual) resolution of the Initiation!

Before I hit an all-week road trip, I crammed a lot- the entire initiation field arc- in a single weekend of writing. It was just almost as big as the rest of the story to date, so I didn't want to put it all out- especially since I haven't had time to write for the next week's yet. So this one gets broken into a two-fer- and the second post will be posted sooner than normal. Once I'm settled back down and have moved into my new place, I should be back to the usual posting schedule.

This chapter and the next will be giving a lot of hints about Jaune and start developing his powers and gimicks. Some are being spelled out. Others, not so much- developing them is the main part of the story.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I (still) don't own RWBY. And if I did, and RWBY were like this, it'd be rated M for gore alone.

/

* * *

/

The Never-ending Initiation Ends

/

"Ren!" Nora shouted as the boy collapsed, all but clawing at his eyes.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed, rushing to her sister. "What's wrong?"

"Pain!" Ruby whispered, cradling her head and covering her ears. "So much!"

Yang shot Weiss a look- but the girl holding Ruby was just as confused as Yang. "I don't know!" Weiss exclaimed. "She was fine, and then Blake and Pyrrha got back and it roared and-"

"It's Jaune," Ren said, staggering towards them. He, too, was leaning on his partner- though instead of his ears, he was cradling his eyes. "He's inside the Grimm- being consumed, body and soul," Ren explained.

"So much pain!" Ruby repeated. "He's screaming Yang! He hurts so much it hurts!"

"Well- he needs to get out then!" Yang demanded, angry at a pain to her sister that she couldn't punch. "Just- do his ghost thing and pop out!"

"It's not… that simple," Ren managed. "He's trapped by the Grimm- and himself. A spirit is naturally attached to its own body. There's an… an attraction, or a pull to the extension of your own soul. To something that matters a lot to you. It-" he cut off with a groan of pain.

Nora knew what he was going to say, though. "That's why most ghosts stay near their body," she finished.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "Then- when I told him to get into his body-" she realized.

"He was trapped by its pull, and the Grimm's influence," Ren acknowledged. "He's being consumed, body and soul."

"But how can Grimm even do that?" Weiss demanded. "Trap a semblance?"

"How do they shoot feathers like bullets? Or dissolve into nothing? They're evil," Blake suggested, accepting it.

"I still don't see the issue," Weiss argued. "We all die. I can't believe I'm saying this, but- how is this different from an hour ago? His body was dead then. Even if I accept this- this ghost-semblance- can be trapped and hurt, how will it stop him? Won't he just… pass through?"

Ren shook his head. "Grimm don't just eat bodies- they devour us, body and soul. You know the legend of the first hunter, right? Why do you think the aura ritual was a funeral rite?"

"To give us more power to fight the Grimm," Weiss said confidently. "If just one spirit could protect just one living person, it'd be for the best and-"

A pink-gloved fist collided with Weiss's faces, sending their heiress tumbling.

Nora stood above Weiss, stunning everyone with how her fist was shaking with visible anger. "Are you crazy? 'I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee?' That's not about you- that's to protect _them!_ "

"What is your problem?" Weiss demanded, rubbing her cheek.

"Selfish little girls who-"

"Enough!" Yang roared, stepping between the two.

"Let it go, Nora," Ren said softly. Nora glared at him- at him!- for just a moment, before relaxing and stepping away.

"I don't know the whole story, and I don't care," Yang said. "How do we fix it?" she demanded of Ren.

The creatures roared again. Ruby whimpered. Ren staggered from the sudden migraine in front of his eyes, but continued.

"Get Jaune's spirit out of there," Ren managed. "The state of the body affects the state of the spirit, but if he's outside of the Grimm, he'll be safe- for now."

"But he's trapped," Weiss reminded. "You said his body has a pull- that it was the extension of his soul. I mean, we have pieces and parts, but-" she trailed, gesturing to what they had to spend in any effort. An arm and a leg- and a spare leg for good measure.

"Extension of the soul…" Blake repeated. "You said that the soul can be 'pulled'- what else can do that?" she asked. "We're already far away from where he 'died.' And if the body affects the soul- well, he's gone through a lot physically, but you aren't worried. What else could he be he attached to?"

Ren tried to focus through his headache, but a soft voice beat him.

"His weapon," Ruby whispered weakly. "His weapon is the extension of his soul."

Yang looked at her. "Not everyone is a weapon dork like you, Ruby," she said, not unkindly.

"Not that," Ruby denied. "It's an heirloom. Belonged to his great grandfather."

"Classic," Ren grunted. "Family ties… that could help. Is it still up there?" he asked Blake and Pyrrha.

Blake nodded. "I didn't have time to pull it out," she admitted. "Just to catch the shield."

"So… what's the plan?" Yang asked. "Jump on the bird again, pull the sword out, and drag Jaune's soul out with it?"

The Nevermore screeched again. Ruby whimpered, and Ren staggered. "You'll have to do it," he said. "Anyone sensitive to ghosts-" he couldn't continue as he fell to his knees again.

"I'll protect them," Pyrrha promised Yang, who looked hesitant to leave Ruby. Yang nodded, and followed the rest.

"So, how do we get it down here?" Weiss asked as she, Blake, Yang, and Nora walked outside.

"We'll need bait, like last time," Blake said.

Weiss scoffed. "Who's crazy enough to volunteer to do that?"

/

"So… come here often?" Yang asked from up high on a pillar, trying to break the ice.

"…" Nora wasn't talking, even as she stood on her own pillar a few meters away.

"You know, usually playing distraction would be easy for me," Yang continued. "If this were a guy, I'd just puff my chest a bit and he'd come straight for me."

"…"

"You got a nice chest yourself," Yang complimented. "I bet there's not a straight guy around who could resist you if you tried."

"…"

Yang gave up being subtle. "So, how about dem ghosts?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Nora claimed, her first words since she hit Weiss back in the ruins.

"Really? Because I do," Yang said, not one to be deterred so easily. "This all seems crazy to me. I mean, I love my sister but I always wondered, you know? Even if I'd punch anyone who was mean to her about it. But it sounds like it's more than that with you. What's your reason for caring?"

"I **_really_** don't want to talk about it," Nora said, and sighed. "It's… personal. Really, really personal," she said. "Sorry."

"Okay," Yang said, willing to accept that sort of reason. "I got skeletons in my closet too. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it. Even if you're doing it for your friend, you're helping my sister, so you're good with me. Just know I'll listen if you want, okay?"

Nora gave a bit of a smile. "Listen to the crazy girl trying to save dead people from monsters?" she asked.

Yang flashed a thumbs up. "It's not crazy if it's true!" she claimed. "So…. what are you going to do after we, uh, save Jaune?" she asked.

"You mean after we play worm-bait for the giant bird that wants to eat us too?" Nora asked, smile returning in full.

"Exactly!" Yang smiled. "Me, I'm going to take the longest shower I can. I got to say, bloody-blonde isn't for me."

"Mm… I'm thinking pancakes," Nora claimed. "I'll fight almost anything for pancakes."

"Really? I pictured you as fighting for higher cause. Like, revenge. Or boys. Or ponies."

"Pancakes _are_ the cause," Nora retorted in utter sincerity, and Yang snickered.

"Are you two done bonding yet?" Blake asked from down below. "It's coming around!"

"Sheesh, you'd think she was jealous and afraid of losing her partner or something," Yang said.

"I am not!"

"She can't be jelly," Nora reasoned, pointing at the reason why not. "Weiss is over there."

"Jelly… Weiss?" Yang repeated slowly.

"Oh, Dust no…" Weiss moaned. Like she'd never heard that one before.

"Oh yeah, you and I are definitely going to be good," Yang cackled. "If you were a guy, I'd kiss you for that. Still might," she winked.

"Yang? Nevermore?" Blake reminded, relieved to get this over with.

There was no more time for- the Nevermore was right upon them, angling for Yang.

They leapt. Yang leapt for the maw- much like Pyrrha had before- and secured it open. "I- hope-you're-hungry!" she exclaimed, punching fire down its gullet.

Somewhere down below, something caught fire. It smelled of human flesh.

"Sorry Jaune!" Yang called down. "Now shove that ghost butt of yours onto that sword so that Nora can nail it!" A pause. "In a completely non-creepy, non-sexual way!" she added.

Nora, meanwhile, had leapt high- above a wing that would have tackled her had she let it. A swing of her hammer had caught on the wing like a scythe- not cutting it, just catching, but with enough to make the Grimm scream in addition to what Yang was already doing.

Swinging herself down, Nora stabilized herself on the bird in the sky- cloud surfing, if you will- and found the sword in the back. It was in deep- too deep to move, really- with only a bit of blade between the Nevermore's feathers and the hilt.

"Jaune? Are you in there?" Nora called.

Silence. She knew better than to expect anything- and it was probably for the best- but she could have sworn it wiggled a bit. Maybe the wind, maybe the bird, but maybe not.

With a mighty swing Nora nailed it.

/

They say that when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

And in this case, that's actually a pretty good analogy. Jaune's family blade, straight as it was, was designed to pierce. To split bone and sinew apart as it drove in, much as how a nail was intended to drive apart matter from the tip. It might not have been as perfectly designed for this function as a nail- but then, nails aren't generally cutting apart entire monsters in a single swing either. The hilt of Crocea Mors was also sturdy and reinforced- maybe not ideal shaped for receiving a blow, but more than capable of giving or taking one. A hilt to the head had dented more than one helm in the blade's long life.

Meanwhile, Nora's Magnhil made an excellent approximation of a hammer by virtue of being, well, a Warhammer. A two-handed shaft, and the exploitation of the physics of an arc, allowed a great deal of centripetal force to be concentrated on the exceptionally reinforced hammer-head rather than distributed across the length of the shaft. This provided a great 'sweet spot' effect- in the sense that when a fully-swung hammer hits you, it conveys the entire force through a smaller point of contact than if it hit.

Massive force, onto sturdy hilt, transmitted through straight blade intended to split, and bam. Hammer and nail.

The explosives Nora had incorporated into her hammer to go off on impact were really just showing off. Really. Completely unnecessary.

Crocea Mors pieced the Nevermore more- through the back, into the stomach cavity, and through the heart of the not-quite departed Jaune Arc himself. Perhaps it was luck- perhaps it was intentional- maybe it wasn't even needed, but even so it _worked_ \- and something stuck, even as the blade cut through the other side and emerged from the Grimm a moment later.

/

Ren felt rather than saw the moment Jaune left the Nevermore. Could feel the moment he escaped the Grimm- his crippling migraine cleared, just as Ruby let go of her ears, and both looked towards the descending object.

"Is he-?" Pyrrha asked.

"He's out, but-" Ren began, unable to recognize what was wrong. Then he realized- he saw the sword before he saw Jaune. There wasn't a spectral body- but the glow was there, around the blade. It was- "He's inside the sword!" Ren realized. He wasn't holding the blade like he had before- he was outright (or would it be inright?) possessing it.

"Jaune!" Ruby called out. "Jaune!" she tried again. "He's not- he's still hurting," she worried. "He's there, but he's not in control."

"Can we catch him?" Ren asked. If the blade tumbled into the chasm- if they couldn't find him-

"I can," Pyrrha said, and extended a hand. Jaune's blade ceased to tumble- stabilized, angled itself- and fell towards them at an unnatural angle. It flew- even accelerated- until Pyrrha caught it with ease.

"Semblance," she explained. "Can you keep it a secret?" she asked, and they nodded. There were more important things to worry about.

Jaune's spiritual aura was carried by the blade. When Pyrrha caught it, though, the aura kept going- and Ren saw the spiritual body leap out, like a man breaking the surface of water and taking a desperate breath. Jaune's spirit tumbled forward and through him, and Ren felt the familiar unnatural chill as the body passed through him, as two life forces tried to exist in the same spot.

It didn't matter- it was normally harmless- but Jaune was harmed. Ren could still see him- still make out features, still make see the faint outline of the boy it had once been- but it was fainter than it had been. Dimmer. And flickering- every three heartbeats, Jaune disappeared for half of one, completely disappearing from even Ren's sight.

Jaune looked at him, and mouthed something. The spirit tried to sit up- to float up- but a grimace passed across its face, and the flickering intensified.

"Its fine, Jaune," Ruby reassured. "You're safe. Just rest."

Jaune shook his head reached up and grabbed at Ren- eyes wide as if he were still alive and needed to shake him. Again, Ren felt the chill feeling where the fingers touched his chest.

Ren looked to Ruby for translation.

"He's- he's delirious. He's telling us to run," Ruby translated.

"Run away?" Blake asked as she returned, displeased. "After this much, I really don't want that bird to get away."

"Well, why not? Didn't we accomplish what we set out to do?" Weiss asked, also coming back in. Blake followed her- and not far away, you could see Nora and Yang landing on the ruins and making their way in.

"How's Jaune?" Nora called first as they ran in. "Did we get him?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, to Yang and Nora's obvious relief. The two bruisers traded high fives.

"He's… stable," Ren elaborated. "He just needs to regain aura, and he'll be fine."

"How does he do that?" Blake asked.

"By resting on something he's attached to," Ren said. "Most ghosts stay near their graves, but as long as you have something your spirit is attached to-"

"Like his weapon?" Weiss asked, and Ren nodded.

"-he'll recover in time. More attachment is better, of course."

Pyrrha realized what he was suggesting, and brought out the shield-sheath of Crocea Mors. Sheathing the weapon- reuniting it- had an obvious beneficial effect- Jaune's flickers stopped, even if the paleness remained.

"So… what next?" Yang asked. "We done here, or we go back out there for round... what round would it be?" she wondered, having lost count.

Pyrrha ignored the question. "Do we need to do anything else to save Jaune?" she asked. "Is he in danger?"

Ren shook his head. "Nothing immediate," he said. "All ghosts fade away eventually. But-" he trailed off.

"But?" Pyrrha prompted.

"The spirit is connected to the body, right?" Blake prompted, remembering him. "Jaune could get by without the rest of his body, but he'd be better off with it."

Ren nodded. "He'd recover faster. And better resist corruption of spirit."

"Corruption of- never mind, tell me later," Yang dismissed. "Beat a Grimm, help a friend," she said. "What's the counter-argument?"

Six heads turned towards Weiss. She blinked back- and was sure she felt a seventh attention on her as well. "I am not opposed to helping people!" she defended herself.

"Um," Ruby began, drawing the attention towards her instead. "I'm not opposed, but Jaune- "

"Huh? Jaune what?" Yang wanted to know. Opposed it?

Ruby held closed her eyes and took a breath. "He's- he says he saw things inside the Grimm's stomach. I'm not sure _he_ knows what he saw- but there were other remains in the stomach. Bones of other students- like us," she conveyed. "Students who tried to fight when they didn't have to, and failed."

"He's worried," Ruby realized. "He doesn't want us hurt for him."

There was a silence- and then Nora rose. "Meh," she shrugged. "Then we won't. Coming, Ren?"

Ren rose. "Someone has to watch over you," he said.

"If that's how it is, that's how it is," Yang said, tossing her arms behind her head. "Don't leave me behind."

"I agree," Blake nodded, rising herself. "There's only one sensible course of action."

The four of them rose, leaving only Ruby, Weiss, and a silent, considering Pyrrha. Ruby looked at her partner with hurt in her eye.

"Weiss," she tried not to plead as the other girl rose. "We can't just leave-" she began.

Weiss paused and spun around, a scowl on her face and a bloody finger pointed at Ruby's face. A speckle of blood flew from it to Ruby's face.

"Who's leaving, you dunce?" she asked, a scowl on her face… but a smirk in her eye.

"We're going to gut that overstuffed turkey. And you're going to help us not get hurt doing it."

/

Despite Weiss's words, it was actually Pyrrha- and Jaune, once he gave up protesting- who came up with the plan.

"It comes down to the cave paintings," Pyrrha explained.

"Cave?" Blake asked.

"Ooh! The totally awesome mystery cave of darkness… cave?" Nora remembered.

"There was a cave like that here?" Yang asked. "That sounds awesome!"

"I know, right? It's in the name!"

"Ahem!" Pyrrha said, getting their attention. "I think we misunderstood the purpose of the caves, even this region," Pyrrha said. "I'm not sure the cave paintings were meant to warn keep people out from the Deathstalker- I think they were meant to tell people the Deathstalker was _in_."

"What's the difference?" Ruby wanted to know. Or maybe Jaune wanted to know, and Ruby was asking for him.

"Obstacles," Ren explained, taking over. "If people wanted to trap the Deathstalker, they would have sealed the entrance- instead, they left it open. And if you remember the cave paining- how it had people with weapons behind a deathstalker… who was facing another person…"

"Faunus sacrifice," Blake whispered. A couple of odd looks came here. "What? It probably was. Racism and all that."

Ren nodded. "It happened. There were ancient empires who sacrificed people to the Grimm as a diversion- or appeasement."

"Those were primitives, and I'm not sure how it applies to us now," Weiss said. "It's not like we-" she trailed off, realizing where it was going.

"Don't you find it suspicious how such an old grimm- who should learn better- keeps falling for the 'dangle bait' trap?" Blake asked. "Almost like it was conditioned for it?"

"We're not in an ancient temple," Nora said with surprising cheer. "We're on a Grimm feeding table!"

"And Jaune," Pyrrha said, patting what little of him remained, "is the main course."

Blake unconsciously licked her lips.

/

It was ambush, in other words. The building at the edge of the canyon- perhaps where prisoners long ago had been forced to stay until told to run across the bridge and to their deaths- remained their hiding spot. Jaune's remains were laid out in clear sight- in what they hoped might have been some ancient ritual of appeasement- and it was only a matter time until it came.

It did. And unlike before, the trap worked perfectly.

The Nevermore landed cautiously- just as they expected it would. It landed at a distance, looking around before hopping closer like a giant overgrown sparrow. It examined the giblets, chose the one it wanted first, and with a final look for danger is drove it's beak into Jaune Arc's legs, splitting them apart once and for all.

 **Aw man, why'd it have to go for my balls?**

It was rewarded by finding an iceberg in its face. Or it's face in an iceberg.

Same difference, really, as Weiss was rocketed overhead, flying by the hyper-tension slingshot of gambol shroud. Held on both ends by Yang and Nora, Ruby didn't even wait for them to regain their footing before she sped with a recoil-assisted sprint.

"Charge!"

Ruby declared, and did, racing towards the bird before it could break free of its ice prison. Though Ruby had to angle around the ice, in her passing she was still able to get a full swing against the Nevermore's leg. It screamed, it bled, and it fell to a… knee? Do birds even have knees, really? It lost a foot, at least.

Behind her, the rest swarmed the bird as well. Some, like Ren and Pyrrha, fired as they ran- doing what damage they could before they were in melee range. Others, like Yang, fired _to_ run- using their recoil to move faster. Yang punched her way around the ice as well, and put herself right between the birds legs before giving a spinning uppercut-

"Shoryuken!"

-right between its legs. The scream reverberated through the ice, making it crack.

Yang grinned. "I think this bird's a guy, girls!"

"Not after that," Blake snarked to herself. While she was fast on her feet, she was still slower without a movement-booster- and instead settled for swinging gambol shroud at range, overhead and directly at the Nevermore's win muscles. "Time to clip its wings," she muttered as she felt the meaty thunk she was looking for.

"Hey, Blake!" Yang called. "Way to… clip it's wings!" she _cawed_.

Blake paled. "No one heard me say that. Ever," she threatened everyone around.

"Too late!" Nora claimed, before leaping into the air as the ice shattered fully.

The Nevermore raised its head. Magnhild sent it straight back into the ground- and as Nora landed to the side of the bird, she spun under gave a return swing so strong that it lifted tailfeathers above tongue- if birds had tongue.

Completely by coincidence, of course, Magnhild hit right where Yang had.

/

"I don't think that was any student at all that time," Glynda noted approvingly.

"See Glynda? It all worked out," Ozpin claimed, even as he subtly crossed his legs in cross-species male sympathy.

Glynda shot him back a bemused look… and then a smirk. "You're still going to have to explain Mr. Arc to his family, Ozpin," she reminded.

"…let me enjoy my coffee, Glynda," Ozpin asked.

/

It screamed in pain some more, and it did what all beings in pain do- it reacted blindly. The Nevermore slammed open its wings blindly, knocking away all those near it, and sent its wings forward in a blind storm of feathers. It wasn't aiming. With Nora directly beneath, it didn't need to.

"Nora!" Ren cried in alarm, but he needn't have- a floating shield was between Nora and the Nevermore. It didn't stand up for long- spun by impact and sent spinning across the stone floor until Pyrrha pulled it towards her- but it lasted long enough for Nora to escape.

Ren saw Jaune's spirit flow out of his weapon- like a drunkard leaving a bar- but as Jaune's spirit body formed he looked at the bird and soon gestured frantically. Ren understood why in a heartbeat.

"It's trying to fly away!" Yang realized as the demonic bird awkwardly lurched towards the side. "Weiss, freeze it!"

"I can't!" Weiss claimed. "No more dust!"

"We can't let it get away!" Blake vowed.

"Nora! Smash it!" Ren called.

Nora leapt, swinging- but her blow, even as it spun the top-heavy bird around, only sent it over the edge where it could open its wings.

It had no stability- it might not have even been thinking- as it flew directly into the center tower of the canyon, the one that almost looked like a birdcage. Stones fell and it awkwardly tried to move forward, but it was away from them for the moment. It would get away.

"You won't get away!" Ruby vowed, gunshots sounding as she accelerated to the edge.

"Ruby, don't!" Yang warned, but Ruby had already leapt. She was high- she had momentum- but would she- could she?

No, she would not.

Jaune flashed in front of Ren, making desperate gestures even as Crocea Mors collapsed from a shield to the dark-like sword and sheath.

Sword. Pyrrha. Ruby. And the pantomime of a mimed wall, and slamming his fist against the flat hand the represented the wall. Jaune didn't even wait to see if Ren understood before he flowed into Crocea Mors once more, collapsing it into sword and sheath.

"Pyrrha! Nail it!" Ren relayed.

Pyrrha's eyes widened- maybe more so when Corcea Mors flew towards her- but she didn't hesitate. Her rifle unfolded into a spear. Power- magnetic and ghostly- bound Crocea Mors to Milo. She aimed, she corrected, and she threw.

Weiss saw the spear fly by… and whirled towards Pyrrha with an accusing finger.

"It was **_you!_** "

/

Ruby knew she misjudged the distance as soon as her feet left the ground. A trick of the light? Overconfidence? She wasn't sure.

She wouldn't make it to the bird cage.

That didn't mean she was going to die- probably. She had Crescent Rose. She was on an angle to impact the tower. She could force a landing onto the side, cut into the column, and use the momentum and her recoil shots to jump to a lower stone area. It would hurt- she'd probably break a leg- but she'd live. As long as the bird didn't come back to make easy pickings of her.

She prepared herself for the impact- for the pain, and the pain to follow- when she heard a whistling behind her.

 **Hang on, Ruby! I'm coming!**

Ignoring that she didn't have anything to hang on _to_ , Ruby twisted to see what was coming, and realized that it was a thrown spear- a rather familiar spear- coming straight at her.

 _Is this what Jaune saw before he died?_

She wondered that, wondered what might happen to her, and then a strange thing happened. The spear separated into two. The main spear rose above her- and whistled past her safely. The smaller thing- a dart from this perspective fell and went below. Both impacted before she did.

 **Ruby!**

Darn, she forgot to turn back arou-

She must have only blacked out for a moment, because she hadn't finished falling to her death yet.

Ruby heard things- voices- mostly those of her friends and sister. She groaned, sore on her feet, and tried to stumble forward towards them.

 _Stumble?_

She woke when she realized that she was walking into nothing. Before she could fall- why was she not falling?- something pulled her back by her cape. A glance behind her saw only stone. It was her cape that pulled her back.

 **I've got you.**

"Jaune?" The cape seemed to- no, did- move, wrapping around her comfortingly, pulling her back.

 **Yeah. Don't move- you've only got a foot of space. Are you alright?**

"Yeah," Ruby managed, looking down and wishing she hadn't. A foot of space? Less- a crescent moon crest of a shield, halfway into the wall, was all that held her up from oblivion.

 **Can you reach up? I think you gave your sister a heart attack when I let go.**

Let go? Ruby looked up to where she'd jumped, and saw Yang- fright passing, but still so pale that Ruby knew she'd be in for a bone-crunching hug before the lecture. Ruby raised her arm to wave- and her arm encountered something thin and round. Looking up further, she saw the spear- and that part of her own cloak was tied around it. Had she fallen, it might have saved her. Maybe not- but it might have.

 **I didn't want to pierce, in case it tore. Or I missed and hit you. I know how that feels, trust me.**

"Thanks," Ruby said sincerely. Reaching up, she tested the spear's stability. Liking it, she put both hands on and pulled herself up, leaving the shakey platform behind.

The feeling in her cape departed as the shield wiggled itself out of the wall and raised. When she wobbled in getting her balance atop the spear, the shield was there to catch her, pushing against her until she regained balance.

 **Whoa there. I can't catch you on my own if you fall.**

"Where's the Nevermore?" Ruby asked.

 **Still up there. It's caught in the bird cage, but not for long.**

"Then we need to get up there and finish it," Ruby said. "Can you help me keep my balance if I run up there?" Already her mind was calculating the necessities. A recoil-assisted jump, wall running, swinging the scythe over the lip of the birdgace to pull herself in… beside her the shield hovered, angled upwards, as if seeing the same things she was.

 **That's not- you don't care how safe it is, do you?**

"Nope."

 **And telling you I'm not worth it wouldn't work either, would it?**

"Nope. It ate my imaginary friend."

 **I'm not imaginary.**

"Nope- and that's why I'm going to kill it. Will you help me?"

 **Do Arcs go back on their word?**

Ruby paused, and looked over at the floating emblem of the Arcs.

"Do they?" she asked, honestly unsure.

The shield snapped shut in pique.

 **No. They do not.**

"Then when I asked if you'd help me-"

There was a **sigh** , and the collapsed weapon floated into her grasp.

 **Hold onto this. I don't want to lose it.**

Crocea Mors fell motionless, even as her own cloak began to move on its own again. Somehow, it felt like more than an even trade.

 **On three-**

"Jaune? Did you ever promise your family you'd come back alive?"

 **…no.**

"You should have. Can you promise me?"

 **I don't think I can, Ruby.**

"I don't want to lose more friends like you. Promise me you'll try?"

 **… I won't go unless you want me to, Ruby. Promise.**

She smiled. Ruby stepped back, readied her weapon, and prepared to jump and run. Her cloak encircled her, and instead of any chill- it felt warm. Alive.

A glyph formed on the wall, and out of the peripheral of her eye Ruby could see the support of an acerbic partner trying to help. Pyrrha was there as well, hand extended. A weak sense of fillings in her teeth pulling up passed through her, and Crocea Mors seemed just that much lighter.

 **Ready, Ruby?**

"Ready."

 **Three-**

"Two-"

 **One-**

Bang.

/

She ran.

Up a wall, defying gravity, defying not just laws of physics but of life and death.

Her cloak raced her. It did not just follow- it pushed, pulled, encouraged and worried for her.

The beak of the Nevermore jutted out, and looked down. The monster saw its last prey.

She jumped. She swung her scythe perfectly, catching the lip just so.

The beast lunged, trying to grab her red shadow in midair.

The cloak moved- out of the way, over the ledge, pulling her where as she needed to go.

She stumbled. It made one last bite. He pulled her forward, and she took that step and swung her weapon in a perfect blow.

Straight between the legs. Right down the middle. Open the throat- and everything else, in one single cut.

What was left of Jaune fell out of the Nevermore before it finished dying.

/

Sound came back with the beat of her heart and the sound of her lungs. Cheers, in the distance, as her friends- she could call them that now, she had _earned_ them- celebrated.

"We did it! We did it. We- whoo," she said, collapsing to her knees, exultant. "Don't worry," Ruby warded off any ghostly concern. "Just tired."

 **…yeah. I know what you mean.**

"You did great, Jaune! We both did!" Ruby cheered. "It's going to be easy now. Happy times, from here on out."

 **That sounds… nice.**

"You alright? Sound a bit out of it there."

 **…I'm… sorry. Just… tired.**

"Don't die on me now, haha- haha- ha? Jaune, why aren't you laughing?"

 **"I'm just… going to... stay here... awhile..."**

"Jaune?"

 **…**

"Jaune?"

 **….**

"Jaune!"

/

* * *

/

End Week Five

/

* * *

/

Author Note:

Cliffhanger! Is Jaune dead? Will I ever improve at writing fights? Will this story ever start being funny again?

Can you read all of the above with a straight face?

Finished a long trip, and currently moving into a new home. I'll be trying (key word- trying) to have a special update of sorts up by Halloween- or at least punch through the first part of Beacon. We'll see how next week rolls- it may be very busy or very empty for me.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I (still) don't own RWBY. And if I did, and RWBY were like this, it'd be rated M for gore alone.

/

* * *

/

Rise of the Sisterhood

/

* * *

/

"It was _you_!"

Ren saw the white-themed heiress point an accusing finger at Pyrrha, but like most of the group he ignored her for the moment-

"Don't ignore me!"

"Weiss, do you mind?"

-because there were more important things going on-

"Yeah, my sister is kinda falling to her death right now."

-and more important people going down.

Ren had an advantage, being able to see what others could not. To see Jaune's essence as it enveloped both sword and spear as they flew through the air. To see the moment they separated- the moment Jaune emerged from _within_ Crocea Mors and pushed it and Milo apart, missing the falling girl both above and below in a trajectory gravity alone would not have allowed. He saw Jaune's ghost, dragged by the sword into the wall, reach out and expand the scabbard into a shield, one stuck half-in the wall.

But even he gasped when Ruby hit the wall, back of the head first, and visibly blacked out.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed in horror, almost looking ready to jump off the walkway herself. It'd be suicide, of course- even with her gauntlets to propel her, it'd be a long fall to the bottom of the canyon with or without her.

"She caught it!" Pyrrha shouted at the same time, in hope, as Ruby's hand caught on the shaft of Milo.

"But how-?" Blake began, confused, even as Ruby dangled by one arm and didn't respond to their shouts.

"It's Jaune," Ren said, staring hard.

Even though they could only see the effects, he had seen the actions- of Jaune, moving from his shield, grab onto Ruby as best he could. One ghostly hand held hers around Milo, a death-grip if there ever was one. The other, almost coaxing, touched her head. Ruby's body shifted just so- rocking in the non-existent wind- until the feet found the shield and it slowly stood on it. Only once it was safely aboard the board did Jaune reach for the cloak and begin to levitated it up and over the spear in the start of a knot.

"He's puppeting her," Ren summarized.

"He can do that?" Blake asked, as curious as she was relieved.

"He's been doing that with his own body," Pyrrha reminded. "I didn't know he could do that to others," she said, looking at Ren.

"Well, normally they can't-" Ren began, only to be interrupted by Yang.

"Didn't know, don't care," Yang claimed, still pale from shock. "I just know Ruby's not falling to her death because of him. I'd kiss him myself if his lips weren't in the stomach of a Grimm right now. I can forgive a little touchy-feely this time." She paused. "Is he being touch-feely?" she asked Ren.

"He's holding her hand to the spear and tying her cloak," Ren passed.

"Alright, then he doesn't die," Yang ruled. "Probably my favorite boy alive right now."

"About that," Weiss began, glaring meaningfully at Pyrrha.

"WOOHOO! You da man, Jauney Boy!" Nora shouted over her. "Wave if you're da man!"

Below them, Ruby's free hand waved towards them.

"Like I was saying-" Weiss tried again.

"Think we can get over to them while that Nevermore is still around?" Blake wondered, pointing at the giant bird-Grimm that had flown into and gotten stuck within the 'birdcage.'

"We should probably help them," Pyrrha agreed, making to move down the walkway to a possible approach towards Jaune and Ruby.

"Not so fast, Pyrrha!" Weiss interrupted. "I think it's about time we-"

"Weiss, can this wait? I think Ruby's waking up," Yang said.

Ren's eyes widened. That wasn't good, and he could hear the gasps as the reasons why became evident. Ren could see Jaune's grip on Ruby's hand lessen- slipping away like water over a stone as life returned to the little girl. Ruby's grip on Milo weakened and let go. Her legs, locked as they were, saw her body begin to tilt forward over the ledge.

"Not again!" Yang whispered, heart in her throat.

But Ren still saw Jaune- saw him pulling, tugging on the hood with all his might. Saw him go _into_ the cloak, just as he had Crocea Mors before, and saw the cloak tug and pull Ruby back against the wall. They all let loose a breath of relief as the girl came to her senses and re-gripped Milo.

"She needs to stop doing that to me," Yang swore as Ruby pulled herself up onto Milo. Idly, Ren watched as Jaune slipped out of Ruby's cloak once more to recover his sword and shield from the wall. The shield levitated- was held, really- upwards to eye level with Ruby.

"What are they saying?" Blake asked, watching Ruby's move from a distance.

"Don't know," Ren admitted. "Even if I could hear Jaune, they're too far away."

"Think they'll kill Big Bird?" Nora asked, recalling why Ruby had made the leap in the first place. Ren watched Jaune snap his shield closed and pass it to Ruby.

"That would be ridiculous and reckless," Weiss began, "which is why that dunce is probably going to try," she concluded, holding a hand out. Trembling in visible effort, a glyph began to form far away on the tower wall before Ruby.

"I'll make them a bit lighter," Pyrrha said, stepping beside her and holding out her own hand as well.

The rest of them- too far away to help, out of range and unable to participate- could merely watch as Ruby prepared her run. Only Ren could see the moment Jaune slipped into Ruby's cloak once more, re-possesing it, but everyone could see how it began to move around her- and how, when Ruby began her wall run, she ran with her cloak rather than against it.

The held their breath. They gasped when the bird bit at Ruby, and thanked Jaune for moving the cloak out of the way. And they celebrated when she made her swung, and cheered her as she won.

"We won! We did it!" Nora cried, picking up Ren by the armpits and spinning him around. "Jaune's going to be fine!" she exclaimed, beaming at Ren.

"About that-" Weiss began, but Yang was too motivated too.

"Ruby's good too!" Yang cheered, hitting Weiss on the back. "You won't need Pyrrha as a partner after all," she teased in good-natured relief.

"I don't want that," Weiss said, "considering that Pyrrha-"

"Jaune!" Ruby yelled from across the chasm. It wasn't a good sound.

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

"Ruby! What happened to Jaune?" Yang hollered.

The young girl's distress is palpable. "He's gone!" Ruby shouted back. "He was there for a moment, and then just… stopped moving! Not even his weapon!" Ruby said, holding it out.

"You lost Jaune?" Nora shouted.

"You can lose a ghost?" Blake wondered, wishing she knew how in case one ever decided to stalk her.

Ren stepped forward and peered as best he could. Jaune wasn't floating about, that was good. And there wasn't a specter's shine to show he'd possessed Crocea Mors.

"Can you see him?" Yang asked Ren.

Ren shook his head, trying to remember all the lore he'd ever read. What could make Jaune disappear even from him? Briefly he remembered Jaune, flickering outside his blade… "No," he admitted, concerned. "Bring back everything you can!" Ren shouted to Ruby down below. The girl, while nervous, nodded, and began to handle Jaune's upper torso.

"Does this mean… Ruby killed Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. She didn't sound aggrieved- in fact, she almost sounded excited.

"Don't you even start!" Weiss snapped. "Murderer!"

That got notice, finally. "Weiss, what's gotten into you?" Blake asked.

 _Jaune_ , Ren wanted to crack, remembering an earlier blood flick. But now wasn't the time for such jokes, he wasn't the guy to make them.

"We can't trust her!" Weiss accused the Mistrali champion. "She'll stab us in the back! Or in the throat!"

"That's a pretty extreme accusation," Ren agreed.

"Yeah, Weiss, don't be _Pyrrhanoid,_ " Yang cracked.

"How can you say such a thing?" Nora asked.

"I thought it was good," Yang replied, before she realized Nora hadn't been speaking to her.

"Because it's true!" Weiss insisted, all attention on her. "It was Pyrrha, in the forest, with a giant spear in to the throat! We can't trust her!"

"I resent that insinuation," Pyrrha said calmly, looking towards Milo still in the wall. "It's not that big."

"It was _through his throat,_ " Weiss repeated, emphasizing the important part.

"He was like that when I found him," Pyrrha said.

"Dead!"

"No, I'm pretty sure he was alive," Pyrrha countered. "He was moving everything."

"He was a _zombie_!"

"Weiss?" Nora asked, entering the conversation, "how do you know how Jaune died?"

"I was there! I saw him nailed to a tree!"

"And you left him there?" Nora asked.

"Whoa, that was cold, Weiss," Yang whistled. " _Weiss_ cold, even. Eh? Eh?" she asked her audience.

There was a moment of silence as no one dared acknowledge it, lest they encourage her.

"Regardless of your choice to abandon a fellow student in his time of need," Pyrrha began.

"Hey!"

"How do we know you weren't the one who put him there in the first place?" Pyrrha asked.

"WHAT?!" Weiss shouted, affronted. "Why would I use _your_ spear to kill Jaune?" she asked.

"Sounds like a dirty trick to throw off suspicion," Blake said, giving Weiss a suspecting look. "Just like Schnee Dust Corporation does with their workers' pay."

Weiss bristled, but strove to rise above such an obvious truth. "Why would I use _Pyrrha_ 's spear to kill Jaune?" she repeated.

"Well, you were being a fan girl when you tried to recruit her to be your partner," Yang remembered.

"This is true," Pyrrha said politely.

"And she seemed more interested in Jaune than you," Yang recalled.

"This was also true," PYrrha said with only slightly rosy cheeks.

"So…" Yang trailed off.

"Maybe she wanted to bump off a rival for her intended partner," Blake speculated darkly. "Then she'd frame Pyrrha before offer to use her family's legal resources to keep Pyrrha out of trouble."

"I would never do such a thing!" Weiss claimed.

No one believed her. "Gratitude if Pyrrha didn't realize, and blackmail if she did," Ren realized, almost impressed by the craftiness. "The Schnees sure don't play by half-measures."

"Are you even listening to me? And why would I even want to kill Jaune!" Weiss demanded. "I wasn't _that_ desperate for Pyrrha as a partner!"

"Ooh, maybe it was a love triangle!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

"A lover's feud?" Blake asked, attention caught.

"Jaune did seem pretty into Weiss," Yang recalled. "And Pyrrha was almost as interested in him as Weiss was in her. Maybe she didn't want the rival of a different sort."

"Yang, if I killed every unwanted suitor, there'd have to be a dedicated morgue for all of them!"

Yang paused, considering. "Is there?" she asked, channeling her little sister.

"No!"

"I don't think there was a love triangle," Ren voiced, entering into the debate.

"Thank you!"

"After all, we all only met yesterday at best. Anyone becoming so invested in such a brief time in a first encounter- willing to spear someone to a tree for the next four years of their life- would be utterly preposterous, as ridiculous as 'love at first sight," Ren opined.

"Exactly!" Weiss said, as there were chuckles (one nervous) all around. "Love at first sight is ridiculous, and I for one wouldn't be caught dead indulging it!"

There was a pause for dramatic irony. Or wonderment.

"Weiss, that was a poor pun about Jaune," Blake tisked.

"Leave it to the experts," Yang agreed, nodding.

"So maybe it wasn't love," Nora said, arms behind her head. "Maybe Weiss just wanted friends."

"Uh, I, er- I do not!" Weiss claimed.

There were some stares. Weiss looked down, pushing her pointer figures together, and muttered a confession to soft to hear.

"And so Weiss thought helping Jaune manage his landing strategy would be a good way to become friends, and stole Pyrrha's spear so that Pyrrha would come looking, and decided to use Pyrrha's spear to catch Jaune during his landing strategy so that they could all become teammates and friends!"

"That sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing to do," Pyrrha opined.

"She _did_ make her way to Jaune pretty quickly," Yang said. "Those brown notes couldn't have been more than five minutes after impact."

"She must have been seen that she missed and been horrified," Blake realized, pityingly. "If only she were perfect, or even just as good as Pyrrha, she might not have missed."

"But I- I- I- _didn't_ ," Weiss mumbled.

"We know. It's alright, Weiss," Pyrrha said, placing a comforting hand on Weiss's shoulder. "Jaune pulled through thanks to his semblance- sorta- so we can forgive you. It wouldn't have been the only time you killed Jaune," she said.

"You did let him fall from a truly remarkable height," Ren recalled, remembering the impact before the Deathstinger fight.

"Yeah, we were pointing and hollering and everything!" Nora reminded.

"You sure _let Jaune down_ , Weiss," Yang punned. "Hard. Why didn't you use your glyphs?" she asked.

"I- well- that is," Weiss began, trying to regain her footing. "I thought he had a landing strategy?" she asked, helpless.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Didn't we all," she claimed.

"And what do you mean I killed him then?" Weiss asked, vigor returning, pointing to the body that Ruby was slowly carrying along the stone paths despite missing… stuff. "He has his semblance! Just look at him!" she pointed.

Ruby- somehow aware at how she'd became the subject of attention, jumped away from the accusing finger. Jaune's body didn't follow, and fell with a squishy thump. Ruby gave another cry of distress and worry.

"I dunno, Weiss," Blake said. "He looks dead to me. Didn't you say we shouldn't catch him?"

"Well- that's- uh," Weiss defended. "It's Ruby's fault!" she shouted the accusation.

"Me?" Ruby asked, shocked and horrified from afar.

"Ruby?" Yang echoed, before giving Weiss a look. "You… fiend! How can you blame Ruby for that?" she shouted. Ruby teared up in the distance.

"Well, she didn't catch him either!" Weiss defended. "And neither did you- even though she was asking you!"

"Technically, she didn't ask me to help," Yang recalled. "She just said she needed it."

"Shame, shame, Weiss," Blake tutted. "Trying to pass the buck like that. None of this would have happened had you simple secured Jaune in their air rather than talk about him until impact."

"You really had it out for Jaune, didn't you?" Nora asked.

"First you broke his heart," Yang said melodramatically.

"Then his spine," Pyrrha reminded.

"Oh, come on!" Weiss protested. "That was the impact!"

"And his eardrums!" Nora contributed.

"I can believe that one," Blake commented, putting a finger to her ear.

"This isn't fair!" Weiss protested. "How did I become the bad girl here? He shouldn't have been up there in the first place! How'd he ever get thrown in the first place?" she demanded. "That's who killed him!"

"That would be the Deathstalker," Ren remembered.

"Though the Deathstalker only did so because because we went into the cave," Pyrrha pointed out.

"Whose idea was that?" Blake asked.

"Nora's," Ren remembered.

"Then it was Nora's fault!" Weiss charged.

"Ren!" Nora appealed in protest. "But- you didn't stop me!"

"I tried," Ren reminded, "and you did bring the cave down on him."

"Because you told me to!"

"Don't be too hard on her, Ren," Pyrrha kindly suggested.

"Pyrrha!" Nora exclaimed, gratitude in her eyes.

"Even if she hadn't, the Deathstalker still speared Jaune and still would have thrown him," Pyrrha reasoned. "So Jaune still would have died at impact because Weiss didn't catch him," she reasoned. "Last murderess wins," she suggested.

"What? How is this back to me?" Weiss demanded. "Yang didn't help either! If that's how it is, then, well- he still would have died when he fell of the bridge and Blake hanged him!"

Blake's eyes widened as the memory of the audible snap. "His neck was already like that when I got there?" she hedged, laughing nervously.

"Is there anyone here who _hasn't_ killed Jaune?" Pyrrha asked them all.

Ren raised his hand- but everyone really looked towards Yang when she stopped her hand mid-raise.

"I _might_ have set him on fire in the Nevermore's gullet," Yang confessed nervously. She rallied with her own defense. "But that was after I _slayed_ him with my _killer_ puns."

The group leg out a sigh and shook their heads, even as Ren remained the only person with a raised hand.

"You're not raising your hand, Pyrrha," Weiss weakly pointed out, drained from so many efforts to pin the blame like a certain someone had pinned a body to a tree. A certain someone who was not her, damn it!

Pyrrha maintained an air of regal decorum. "It was my blade that that did the first harm, and I have never denied it," Pyrrha said. "That makes it my burden, no matter how it came to leave my side. Had I been more careful with my weapon- had I kept better watch over it- today may have never come to past. I will take responsibility, no matter who is at fault," Pyrrha vowed. "Do not blame Weiss," she told her fellows. "If anyone is to be blamed, it is me."

"Wow, Pyrrha," Yang said, and most of the group thought, impressed by her selfless maturity in assuming that blame. She wasn't the only one who shot Weiss a dirty look.

"But my friends, I do not think we should dwell on troublesome questions such as 'who killed Jaune,'" Pyrrha continued. "Such accusations will only divide us against each other fruitlessly. Did we not all come together because of this tragedy? Are we not all guilty?"

"I'm not," Ren pointed out.

Pyrrha shook her head and continued over him. "Nay, I say we are all innocent- because Jaune survived, in a sense, despite us all and because of us all- for did we not all save him from the belly of a monster of Grimm? No matter where he is now, I know he bears us no ill-will. Instead, we are all bonded through this. My friends," she said, looking at Nora, and Weiss, and Blake, and Yang in turn, "we are practically family bound by blood- Jaune's blood," she said.

She let that sink in.

"We are the Sisterhood Who Murdered Jaune."

There was a beat.

"Yay!" Nora cheered. "Group hug!" she ordered, pulling everyone together, bloody bodies and all.

"Why am I part of this?" Ren grunted as he was crushed in with the rest of them. Many a man would have loved to be smothered in such conditions- or maybe not, depending how one felt about gore-stained clothes.

"You can be our honorary member," Yang suggested from one side. "Just slit his throat with your blade to make it official."

"I can't believe I'm part of these lunatics," Weiss sighed. "I can't believe I _am_ one of these lunatics," she realized.

"I've never been a member of a cult before," Blake mused.

"Sisters," Pyrrha began, the first to step away from the mass, "and Ren," she added, "though we understand what has transpired here, I fear many will not. Until we find Jaune's spirit again- if we ever do- I fear that being honest about what happened here will only cause confusion and… complications," she said.

"You want us to lie?" Blake asked.

"We can't lie to the Professors!" Weiss objected.

"I prefer… selectively honest," Pyrrha hedged. "We could try to explain how you hung Jaune over a bridge- or how Weiss let him fall out of the sky- but how could we prove Jaune walked away from those if he's not around to prove it?" she asked rhetorically. She shook her head. "But even if we had not harmed his body… the Grimm would still have killed him," she pointed out. "The deathstalker speared and cut him in three. The nevermore consumed him. Would he have survived those anymore than he survived us?" she asked. "Let us be honest on that," she suggested.

"So… Grimm did it?" Blake asked.

"And we waged an epic battle to avenge our dear friend and recover his body," Nora cheered.

"I can't believe I'm going along with this… but fine," Weiss agreed. "It's best if we all have the same story."

From his position outside the circle- and free of incrimination himself- Ren saw as Yang turned and hurried towards Ruby, who was finally approaching them with the top of Jaune's body. The black-dressed girl was clearly still upset, and looked at Yang with sorrowful eyes.

"Yang," Ruby begged, pleaded, "Jaune's not talking. He promised he's stay, but after I cut the Nevermore and his body came out-" she lifted up Jaune's body, and revealed one last wound- a single scythe cut, right up the center of the chest, splitting bone and opening the ribs like a horrific butterfly.

"Weiss might be right. I think I killed Jaune," Ruby confessed.

Yang gave her sister a hug. "Join the club, Ruby," she said comfortingly.

Away from them, the rest of the sisterhood watched. They could see what Ren could- even though they couldn't see what Ren could- because even Ren couldn't see a ghostly aura on Crocea Mors, or in the body, and the only movement of Ruby's cloak was the natural breeze they could all feel. Again, the image of Jaune's ghost flickering even from his sight rested in his mind.

Only one of their number didn't look despondent at that moment. Only Pyrrha, who had turned around to give the sisters privacy- but had a maniacal grin on her face as she pumped her fist.

 _'I can't believe I got away with that!'_ Pyrrha mentally cheered.

/

"I can't believe she got away with that," Ozpin admitted, impressed, having listened to the conversation through the scrolls the children carried.

"It appears Ms. Nikos's skills are not limited to the arena," Glynda said. "Impressive- especially as she listed interpersonal skills as her own personal weakness."

"Deception and misdirection are classic skills in combat between warriors of high caliber," Ozpin mused. "I suppose desperation and need pushed her forward."

"She need not have been concerned," Glynda said, chiding from a distance, "considering that Mr. Arc's condition would not have been held against her."

"Oh?" Ozpin hummed, taking a sip of his coffee and inviting her to continue.

"Indeed," Glynda said. "Were Mr. Arc a capable student, he would have been able to capitalize on the opportunity and factor it into his own landing strategy," she said. "And were he not a capable student, then the blame for his death would fall on the one who literally threw him to his death after granting him admission," Glynda continued, giving a hard look to Ozpin.

Ozpin took another sip of coffee, admitting and denying nothing.

Glynda sighed, not having expected him to. "Do recall, according to law, Academies have twelve hours to report the deaths of all students who fail Initiation," Glynda reminded. "I expect you to inform the Arcs yourself," Glynda said, turning away.

"You want me to inform the father his son is dead?" Ozpin asked.

Glynda stilled. "No," she admitted. "I expect you to tell his mother."

Ozpin took another sip of coffee, but couldn't suppress the shaking of his hand.

/

The ride back to Beacon had been a somber, tiring affair- or at least, they had been somber and tired during it as day gave way to dusk. Ignoring the look from the bullhead pilot dispatched to retrieve them, they loaded their cadaver cargo and were too drained to care about their own appearances. The adrenaline having run out awhile ago, they could barely manage small-talk, if that.

Yang made a joke about how vomit boy didn't have a ghost of a chance of earning the name again considering his lack of stomach. Ren didn't, couldn't, answer Ruby's worries about Jaune's state, not when he couldn't see where the ghost boy was. Blake quietly nibbled on something from her snack pouches, and didn't offer to share.

There were met on the Beacon landing grounds by a portly professor named… Port. Who had more than enough energy for the seven of them.

"Great Walker Scott," Port exclaimed, "you bunch seem to have had a good time! I hear you had quite the adventure yourselves, eh?" he greeted. "You certainly look like it!"

Yang looked at Nora. Nora looked at Yang. Both still had blood on their face.

"Sure. Adventure. Let's go with that," Yang said.

"Bully!" Port exclaimed. "You can tell Headmaster Ozpin all about it! I understand they've breathlessly been awaiting your return since the initiation ceremony!"

Weiss's eyes widened. "Waiting on us since the ceremony? That means we're late! Come on, Ruby!" she worried, panic energizing her.

"Not so fast, Ms. Schnee," Port obstructed. "I understand one of your friends is in need of medical attention?" he prompted.

"He's under the left seat, Professor," Weiss said, before dragging Ruby away.

"And the right seat," Ren informed, following with his partner.

"I buckled him in the middle seat!" Nora called as she was dragged away.

"Grimm did it!" Pyrrha called as she ran past.

"Children, these days. So hasty. Can't even give me one place to- oh my," Port said, looking at what was inside. Yes, Jaune was under the left seat- and the right seat- even has his upper half was slumped over the safety restraints on top of the middle seat. Blake was the last one in the bullhead, fiddling with her pouches.

"Why, I haven't seen a scene of such gruesome carnage since my own youth," Peter exclaimed. "The last time any monster tried to cut me into so many pieces, I had to fight to keep my own organs!"

"Did it try to eat your kidneys?" Blake interrupted, hopping out.

"Only one, my dear," Peter boasted. "Before the rapscallion could try for the second, I-"

"Here you go, then," Blake said, handing over two meaty kidneys- one intact, one half-eaten. "Grimm did it," she gave as an explanation, licking her lips. "I'd say eat your heart out, but… Grimm took that too," she claimed, and ran after her comrades.

Peter watched her go, before taking a look back at Jaune.

"Well, my boy," he said, "I think you have one story even I can not match," he conceded.

Jaune's head, leaning over the safety belt, remained frozen with the tongue hanging out.

"But I shall try anyway!" Peter rallied with gusto. "When I was your age, during my own initiation-" he began as he began to gather the body parts.

/

"And here we have our final graduates," Ozpin greeted as they finally entered the Headmaster's office. "Thank you for finally arriving," he said.

"Our apologies for missing the ceremony, Headmaster," Weiss said politely, speaking for the group. "We would have been here sooner, but _someone_ -" a quick glare at a sheepishly grinning Ruby- "hit all the buttons on the elevator by mistake."

"Never fear, Ms. Schnee, I know the reason you were delayed, and an elevator ride would not have made you any earlier for the ceremony" Ozpin said evenly, to their collective relief and Ruby's childish razzberry towards the heiress. "Tell me, Ruby Rose," Ozpin transitioned, catching the little girl with her tongue half out at Weiss. "If I told you **_not_** to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" he asked.

Ruby gave a nervous laugh. "Heh heh heh… probably?" she said.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow… but broke a smile. "Well, that is what you are here- to learn," he said. "And you have all passed. Congratulations," he said, and they all loosened as tension left the room. "As you missed the formal ceremony, I've asked you here to inform you of your teams. As you know," he began.

("Do we?" Nora asked quietly, whispering. "Do you, Ren?")

"-students are grouped in teams of four, with each team being identified by acronym. I assume you can see where this is going?" he prompted, hoping to skip the explanation.

"Oooh, I do!" Yang said, suddenly excited. "I got it!" she claimed, and reached out to grab the relevant people. A frenzy of grabbing and pulling later- off-screen dust cloud and all- Yang had arranged her team into the position she wanted.

"Tadah!" She said, posing against the provocatively posed ladies of Yang, Blake, Weiss, and… Pyrrha?

"Nora! P, W, B and Y, and what's that spell?" she asked.

Nora cocked her head and put a finger to her lips. "PWBY?" she strung together.

"Team Puberty!" Yang cheered.

There was a beat.

"Except Weiss. She hasn't really hit it yet," Yang stage whispered. "Late bloomer."

"Hey!"

"There there, Weiss," Ruby comforted, bringing Weiss in for a hug. "Keep drinking milk, and one day we can grow big too," she reassured.

Weiss resisted. "I'm older than you, you dolt," she said, beginning to look down. "I bet you're… oh, that's not fair," she cried, even as Ruby hugged her all the tighter.

Ozpin chuckled, and not at all like a creepy old man. "Close, but not quite, Ms. Xiao Long," he said. "By tradition, we group our teams by colors- and yours is Team RWBY-"

"Ren, no! Don't leave me!" Nora melodramatically wailed.

"-led by Ruby Rose," Ozpin finished.

Ruby perked up. "Yes!" she said, squeezing Weiss ever tighter and preventing any protest.

"Congratulations, Ms. Rose," Ozpin smiled. "Though your judgement may have been… hasty, you showed an initiative, flexibility, and concern for you comrades that will serve your team well."

"Congratulations, Ruby," Blake said with a smile, walking over her on the other side of Weiss.

"I'm so proud of you, sis," Yang exclaimed, approaching as well. "Team Hug!" she exclaimed, squeezing them all together around Weiss.

Weiss was too smothered to speak, crushed in the proof of her own inadequacy.

"As for the rest of you," Ozpin said, gesturing towards the onlookers, "you will be Team JNPR, Juniper, led by Lie Ren."

"Congratulations, Ren," Pyrrha said with a sincere smile.

Ren was stunned. "Me? I can't be leader," he protested. "I barely talk!"

"Since when?" Nora asked even as she gave a celebratory hug. "You talk about ghosts all the time!"

"Not all the time," Ren began, but his protest was cut off by a cough.

"Ahem," Ozpin interrupted. "Speaking of Jaune Arc-"

The room fell silent as the Sisterhood Who Murdered Jaune looked among themselves.

"Grimm did it," Pyrrha was the first to say.

"I know that neck might _look_ fatal," Blake began.

"A little firepower never hurt anyone-

"-the ground really looked much softer than it was-"

"-I was just trying to get him out of the belly-"

Ozpin raised a hand, silencing them. "I am aware of Mr. Arc's… injuries," he said. "I am also aware they are not as… final as one might suspect."

"…do you believe in ghosts?" Ruby dared hope.

"I believe in many things I can not see, Ms. Rose," Ozpin said kindly. "Including, yes, spirits. Is he here?" he asked, looking at the two team-leading mediums.

Everyone was downcast. "Sir, the truth is…" Ren began, looking around one last time. "No. Even I can't see him."

"And I haven't heard him since the battle," Ruby admitted.

"Is he truly… dead?" Pyrrha asked, unsure if to use the term.

"Can we keep him on our team anyway?" Nora wanted to know.

"Did Mr. Arc have any… irregularities before his disappearance?" Ozpin asked the team leaders. "Anything that affected your senses?"

"He was in a Grimm, but we got him out," Ruby remembered.

"I saw a… flickering after that," Ren said. "Like he was there one moment, and not the next. But it resolved itself when we recovered his weapon," he said, even as Pyrrha proffered Jaune's Crocea Mors as he said so.

"Flickering, you said?" Ozpin asked as he examined the sword. Even to Ren's eyes, there was no glow about it.

"Yes sir," Ren said. "But I don't see him in the blade now," he added.

Ozpin closed the blade and handed it back to Pyrrha. "Do not be too concerned, then," Ozpin advised. "It is likely he reached a level of severe aura exhaustion and entered dormancy."

"Dormancy?"

Ozpin nodded. "When spirits exhaust their spiritual reserve- their residual aura from life- they do not end immediately. Instead they go dormant- trapped in a state of non-existence and non-awareness, but from which they may reconstitute if they're near enough a source of their residual aura from life."

"Like their body?" Blake asked, remembering their struggle.

"Or a piece of armor," Ren said.

"Or his weapon!" Pyrrha realized, holding it with greater care.

Ozpin nodded. "Things close to a person in life often leave a sort of residual aura from life," Ozpin said. "Spirits do not generate their own aura like living beings, but absorb it from these residual sources. With time Mr. Arc should regain enough aura imbued in his sources to reform his spirit."

"You said trapped," Yang asked, curious. "Trapped where? The afterlife?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No spirit I have ever heard of has ever remembered anything from dormancy. When I said trapped, I meant wherever they last were in Remnant," Ozpin clarified.

Ruby's eyes widened. "We have to go back!" she started. "Jaune could be at the ruins, and the Grimm-"

Ozpin held up a hand to stop her. "Do not be afraid," he advised the children. "Dormant spirits are beyond even the Grimm. He will come to no harm, and you are in no condition to spend a night in the wilds. It may not even be necessary," he claimed. Ozpin looked at Ren. "You said you could not see him in the blade now?" he asked.

Ren nodded. "When Jaune's possessing his blade- not just holding it, but in it- I can see a glow," he explained.

"Try again in the morning, after you have all had a good night's sleep," Ozpin suggested. "A spirit can reach dormancy within an object- even their own residual aura source. Think of it as needing to rest and recharge."

"So… Jaune's tired of being a ghost?" Yang cracked. "Dead tired, even?"

Ozpin nodded. "Exactly so, Ms. Xiao Long," he said, graciously ignoring everyone's groans. "If your friend is not with you come the morning, feel free to come to me and I will arrange an investigation of the initiation site you last saw him."

"Thanks, prof!" Yang gave a cheery thumbs up- and received an elbow for her irreverence from Weiss.

"Headmaster," Ruby said, speaking up, "how much do you know about ghosts?"

Ozpin smiled mysteriously. "Less than you'd expect, and not as much as I'd like," he said vaguely. "Spirits are rare in Remnant, and for many reasons. Your friend Lie Ren certainly knows more than I do. As mediums, your abilities have long been a burden on you- but now it provides you both with an opportunity to do real good for Remnant. It will be up to the two of you to share what you can and learn from each other- and Mr. Arc- so that we may all rebuild our understanding of spirits. It will be up to you to relearn what has been forgotten," he tasked.

"We'll do our best," Ruby vowed.

"So… we're good with keeping Jaune when he comes back, right?" Nora said just to be sure.

"Certainly. Though Lie Ren," Ozpin warned, calling out the green haired boy. "As his team leader, and the only one who can see him, Mr. Arc's… health and behavior… will be your responsibility," Ozpin warned.

"I understand," Ren acknowledged. He'd already suspected that was why he was made Team Leader.

"Good," Ozpin said, staring meaningfully at both him and Nora. "I expect you two to do your best to make him as good a student as a ghost."

Nora's smile froze, and Ren heart skipped a beat, but Pyrrha stepped past them unwavering. "Then its fortunate he has the best partner alive," Pyrrha said humbly, accepting Ozpin's statement as a challenge.

"It's good to see you taking responsibility," Ozpin traded back. "As a partner, of course."

"Of course," Pyrrha returned, champion's smile unwavering.

The air, the uncertain tension, dispelled when Ozpin clapped his hand. "And that's all for today," he said. "It is late, you all have classes tomorrow, and are likely very tired. Remember what I said, and go get some rest," he dismissed them.

As they filed out the elevator, Blake paused and turned with a final question for Ozpin.

"Is it really alright for him to be in Beacon?" Blake asked, uncertain. "Considering that he's...?" she trailed off.

"Not human?" Ozpin finished, earning a slight wince from Blake and her bow. "Ms. Belladonna, the only requirements for entering Beacon is an application and passing the Initiation," Ozpin shared. "There's no rule requiring students at Beacon to have a pulse."

"Really?"

"Truly," Ozpin affirmed, giving the slightest hint of a smirk. "I should know. I checked."

/

"So that's your plan, Ozpin?" Glynda Goodwitch asked a short term later, visibly fighting to retain her composure. "To let a zombie walk our halls, so that you can avoid a phone call?"

"He's hardly a zombie," Ozpin disagreed lightly. "Besides- it would hardly be fair of me to discriminate against the majority of our species," he said. "The living are the real minority, if you think about it."

"He's a ghost. Most dead aren't," Glynda reminded.

"True enough," Ozpin conceded, "but Mr. Arc still brings a unique perspective and unique talents to our school- just as our faunus students do. I am certain our students will benefit from the experience, and that he can become a worthy huntsman in his own right."

"He died," Glynda repeated yet again. "At the start of initiation. He wasn't suited to be a Hunter. He shouldn't be here. He should never have been here. He never should have been accepted!" she all but shouted in the escalation, accusation hovering.

Ozpin said nothing, weathering the barrage and the unasked question.

Glynda, one of the few people who could sense any guilt behind that mask, softened a fraction. "They deserve to know, Ozpin," she urged.

"It's not a good time," Ozpin admitted softly. "Now while this conspiracy is afoot." Not when an angry father- or an angrier matriarch- could do such harm at a delicate time. Not when a scandal could provide the enemy fatal opportunities.

"And when will be a good time? Months? Years? He could be gone by then," Glynda countered. "Ghosts don't linger forever. Even with his body recovered, residual aura is still limited. He should spend what time he has left with his family," she urged.

Again, Ozpin said nothing.

Glynda sighed. "Forget what I said earlier. I'll make the call myself," she offered, turning.

"You won't."

Glynda stopped. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"You won't," Ozpin said a hint of steel in his certainty, "because it would be against their law. As future Hunters, their information- including medical information- is classified and cannot be released outside the school without their consent. I suspect you'll find that hard to get from him." Without looking at her, Ozpin laid down what it meant.

"As long as Jaune Arc is a student of Beacon, you will not contact his family and divulge his medical condition," Ozpin ordered, steel in his tone.

"His death, you mean," Glynda threw at him.

"Being alive is a medical condition," Ozpin said neutrally. He could have left it there, but they had known each other too long to do so. "I'm sorry it's come to this," he apologized.

Glynda grimaced. She might have preferred a more contentious battle. "I understand why you're doing this," she admitted. "But I believe what you are doing is wrong," she said with the frank honesty he'd always appreciated.

"Perhaps," Ozpin accepted, "but it's not your call to make." And she wasn't- couldn't- be the person to selectively bend and break the rules to suit her. Unlike him, that wasn't who she was. They both knew what- and who- lay down that road. In a sense, she _had_ to follow the rules just as much as she upheld them. It was what made Goodwitch a good witch, and not a bad one.

"Very well. As long as he's a student?" Glynda repeated, echoing his terms. She nodded to herself. "We shall see about that," she said, and walked off.

Ozpin listened to her go, and took a sip of his coffee as he looked over Vale at night.

Which was this, he wondered. Another mistake he would long regret- or one he might yet salvage?

/

It was late by the time they reached their rooms. Team JNPR and RWBY traded weary goodbyes, promising to speak to each other in the morning. The day's experiences, even if they'd only been hours, felt like weeks. They wouldn't be separating any time soon.

Ruby barely paid attention to her team's room as she stumbled in, rubbing sleep from her eye. Too tired to care at how cramped it was with four beds, she trudged to the closest one she could, even as Yang called dibs on the shower. She was barely aware of the comedic argument behind her- of Weiss and Blake's argument of who should go first- as well as the reaction to Yang's salacious reach-out and offer to share the shower.

/

Ozpin looked down at his campus once more, frowning at a hairline crack in the glass that he didn't recall before.

"Ms. Schnee really needs to stop doing that," he murmured. "Perhaps I should have gone for that student counselor after all."

/

But even that wasn't enough to startle her alert her anymore. Deciding to clean herself in the morning- and hey, why not clean sheets then as well- Ruby literally crashed on the bed she chose to call her own.

She tried to stay up a little longer- tried to listen to Blake and Weiss as they commiserated about the blood they were waiting to wash off- but it was hard to focus. Hard to stay awake.

And hard not to think on one thing in particular.

"Blake?" she asked, speaking to the elegant black-haired girl on a whim.

"Yes Ruby?" Blake acknowledged.

"Do you think Jaune will really come back?" she asked.

Blake and Weiss traded a look, and Weiss shrugged. Blake chose to be kind.

"The Headmaster thought so," Blake reasoned. "And Jaune promised you, didn't he?" recalling what Ruby has told them.

"Mmmm," Ruby hummed agreeably, and with a slight smile as she dazed off, somewhere between sleeping and lucid dreaming as she hoped to hear another voice. She didn't even bother to get under the covers of her bed before she drifted off, warmed only by her cape and clothes.

Weiss kindly flipped the light switch, and Blake quietly took out a book and a night light, and they both shushed Yang as they quietly scolded her when she emerged from the shower an hour later.

"Don't wake her," Weiss warned Yang as the older sister wanted to tuck her sister in.

"She'll roll off the cape and get cold. She always does," Yang protested, not wanting her sister to wake in the middle of the night.

"She's so tired she probably won't even notice," Blake argued. "Look at her," she repeated. "She's dead tired."

Yang frowned, and not just at the pun denied to her, but agreed, even if she gave Ruby one of her own sheets none the less. With quick showers and quiet good nights, the day ended. The newly forged team- just a small part of the greater Sisterhood of Murderers- went to sleep.

But there was one last thing to note during that day, for Yang was right. Ruby did roll over in her sleep, and did kick off her sheets, and did start to tremble in the cold late at night as she turned and turned.

But if you were watching carefully, you would have seen that Ruby did not roll off her cloak, but with it- wrapping around and around, warming her from the night chill. You would have seen heard Ruby give a contented sigh, seen her smile just slightly, as she sleepily pulled the cloak tighter.

But only if you were Ren would you have noticed a soft glow as the cloak pulled itself over her and gently tucked itself in.

/

End Week Six

/

* * *

/

Omake

Ozpin chuckled, and not at all like a creepy old man. "Close, but not quite, Ms. Xiao Long," he said. "By tradition, we group our teams by colors- and yours is Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."

"That's awfully convenient," Yang noted.

Blake raised a hand. "What would you have done if we all partnered with other people that didn't make convenient color acronyms?" she asked.

"They would have reassigned us, obviously," Weiss claimed. "You don't actually think we we were actually teammates and teams by accidental encounters and chess pieces, do you?" she asked.

"That would be rather unlikely," Ren nodded. "The level of coincidence would be astounding."

"Yeah, imagine if you had a team with three 'C's," Nora said. "Like, CCC...E. What name could you make out of that? Team C-Cookie?"

"Ooh, that team sounds delicious!" Ruby perked up.

"Yeah, but it's not a color," Nora pointed out.

"It's really hard to see how any institution could deliberately require itself to only provide team names corresponding to colors," Ren said. "Even with color shades, that would be ridiculously limiting."

"Perhaps that's why there is always a shortage of Hunters," Weiss mused. "Because all the good ones are rejected because they can't make a color name."

"Isn't it an international tradition as well?" Pyrrha recalled.

"Students with useful letters must be in very high demand," Blake speculated.

Ozpin gave a weary smile. "Would you believe I let Jaune Arc into Beacon just so I could have a 'J'?" he asked with a weary chuckle. "Because I totally did."

/

* * *

/

Author Note:

And... done! The actual end of the pre-Beacon/Initiation arc, and the lead-in to the first Beacon arc.

This is (probably) the last long chapter like this for awhile. I've just moved, am starting a new (full time) job position, and I'm not going to have the time or opportunity to write as much in the coming months as I have the last few weeks. Changes to update rates may come- though I hope to have at least something posted weekly. At best, expect much smaller chapters, with less narrative prose and more short scenes. And, hopefully, more gags. We all like gags, right?

On the plus side (or not?) the actual plot is starting to take shape and form. My typical inclination for drama just can't be avoided, even with puns and one-liners and banter. We'll see how it works- again, this 'writing as I go' thing is still a novel experience for me.

(Yang approves of pun +1)

But yeah. I like it, and hope you do to, and please give the review on what you do (or didn't) like. Believe it or not, knowing what people like and why is useful- makes it less guesswork all around.


	7. (After)Death Note 1

Trick, or treat?

If you thought this was a new chapter, the trick's on you- it's not a chapter, but the much-hated author note to put this thing to rest. The treat is a heck of a lot of story ideas for a fic most of you probably forgot about already.

There's over 36,000 words of planning I drew up for a 'how the story would have gone', which is actually more than I spent writing what I did. That's a bit too much for one posting, so it's going to be broken up over a couple chapters. The concept sketches for four seasons or so, and then a whole bunch of ghost mechanics and character sketches and what more. The fun of design, if not actually writing a story.

First off…

/

The fic's dead, Jim.

(But how do we know it? How do we know it?)

Probably because it hasn't been updated in over a year, and probably because I'm here saying it never will be. That's not to say there isn't a little bit left to tell, but foor those occasional people who PM wondering if it'll ever be continued…

No. It won't.

But tis the season, and the holiday, and here's something for you to much on instead of candy. A bit of thoughts, and a lot more planning that never was.

/

The _Spooky_ Past

Dead Man Walking (Or Something) was a short lived experiment between myself and Coeur to see just how long I could write a story if I tried to do what everyone else did and tried to write a story on the go. Could I keep it up? Could I plan as I went along? Could I avoid running out of steam and giving up after four or five chapters?

Well, I made it to six, and completed a solid arc, and I felt pretty proud of myself for having gotten that far. Meanwhile Coeur wrote 57 chapters, over 140,00 words, and we both feel a bit guilty for having gotten him into a story he had no prior intent of writing just for a bet. Personally I think he's just rubbing it in- I make excuses of real life work and stuff, and he knocks out multiple ongoing novels in the meantime as a hobby.

Starting sometime around when we were doing Writer Games prompts between us (which, sadly, stopped when Coeur had multiple ongoing novels at once- I blame From Beyond for irony's sake), the idea of 'if Jaune was dead from the start' took us in two different directions, but with some similar ideas. I never reached most of them, and Coeur went his way, but…

Ever wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't quit like a chump?

/

The Machinations of a Plot

So, Dead Man Walking (Or Something) had a skeleton outline of sorts from the start. While Coeur's idea of a ghost Jaune was that Jaune would only be seen by one person for most intents and purposes, I took mine on the idea that ghost Jaune would be known by the cast, and compensated accordingly.

This was back before Season 3, so the Breach was still the Big Bad Thing back then, and the core plot of RWBY pretty short. The idea ended up being that while the story would handrail the core-plot for a little while, it'd start to diverge and go its own way around Season 2 with the ghost presence being the justification for a change of plans. Season 3 was obviously set-up for a tournament arc, but it'd be one of my own choice.

Since that didn't leave much plot to handrail, the story concept took on structure of general story arcs- major events of the core plot- with most every character of note having a separate individual plot tied to Jaune. So Jaune would have one subplot with Ruby- the only one who can hear him- and one subplot with Ren- the only one who could see him- and so on and so on.

The idea of these ultimately was that ghost Jaune, as dead as he was, would ironically end up closer to everyone than he would have had he lived. Irony, plus ghost hijinks. So many hijinks.

What sort of plot hijinks, you ask? I'm glad I pretended you asked!

/

Now, About That Story…

The story itself was intended to be one part morbid humor, one part character plots, and one part core plot to carry it all forward.

The core plot was the underlying narrative to push the hijinks forward. Since this started before Season 3 was really a thing, it was mostly drawn up with Season 2 in mind. Given the limitations at the time- we knew a tournament was coming, but not much else- Ghost Jaune would have gone from familiar to an increasingly divergent plot.

Season One was the familiar, with teams forming along familiar lines but then the plot diverging because of Jaune's, well, death. Or undeath.

Initiation you saw. It was to introduce the basic core mechanics of the ghastly ghost and some of the core cast tropes. Jaune's variety of ghost powers, from possession to puppeting, were displayed. The threat of Grimm was enforced to show 'ghost' and 'intangible' =/= 'invincible.' Key character plots, from Ren and Ruby as Seers to background shadowing (Nora) and foreshadowing (Jaune's life limit) were brought up. Finally, everyone had some character hook or comedy point come up, from Weiss's screams to Blake's appetite. It was an introductory arc, and resolved with everyone united in the Sisterhood and thus grouped together.

The second arc would have been the 'Early Beacon' arc, with Jaune trying to adapt to unlife as a ghost. Mostly light-hearted, Jaune's various mechanics and limitations would have been explored with a lot more ghost-related hijinks. The primary challenge for this would be Jaune trying to complete classes, and the primary antagonist would be Glynda Goodwitch, who intends to make Jaune fail.

Glynda- like most of Beacon's faculty- is aware that ghosts do exist. They're just rare enough that most people never see any proof of their existence, and chalk it up to myth. Glynda also knows that Jaune's residual aura is limited, and that his afterlife-span is limited. Glynda is of the position that Jaune should spend his remaining time at home, finding peace with his family and loved ones, so that he can move on. Ghosts who move on end peacefully and content- those who do not and run out of residual aura suffer painful, drawn-out perma-deaths. It is always better for a ghost to move on than end any other way. Forbidden by Ozpin from alerting Jaune's family directly, Glynda intends to make Jaune fail by whatever school rules and technicalities she can- namely, attendance policy.

The first real arc of Beacon revolves around trying to find some proof that Jaune is in class, and not skipping. Jaune's limits of possessing and moving objects that aren't 'his' is demonstrated, as Jaune lacks the energy to so much as hold a random pencil all class long. Jaune could float Crocea Mors… but weapons are supposed to be stored outside of combat class, and Glynda bans Jaune from making an exception. Therefore, the friends have to find some substitute, and go through a comedy of errors with an alternative.

Various efforts include- a floating sheet (too heavy), flipping Glynda's skirt (too brazen- and Glynda's semblance can throw Jaune away), a coating of dust (it works, but sticks to walls/desks and eventually explodes when Ruby sneezes), and puppeting skeletons/anatomy dolls from a physical health class.

The capstone moment is when Jaune possesses some of the Grimm mannequins from Professor Port's hunting expeditions. Complete with the awkward/surreal scene of Jaune-the-Beowolf getting in an elevator and walking around Beacon like nothing's amiss, even as students are freaked out, the measure works out… mostly. Jaune is made to participate in Port's 'reenactments' of his tales for extra credit.

Jaune's 'body,' at the end of this arc, is a teddy bear… the same sort Coeur used in his story From Beyond. This was always intended to be a mutual nod towards each other for coming up with the same idea. Showing up to class and doing a little jig on command (actually the Hokey Pokey- 'Jaune, put your right arm in, take your right arm out, put your right arm in and shake it all about…'), Glynda has no choice but to accept Jaune as present, and the rest of the school accepts that Jaune really is a ghost.

Jaune's teddy-bear body is frequently used, abused, and in need of constant repairs. It also gets the inevitable hugs and snuggles to make other students jealous.

The next focus was 'Communication'- some skits and jokes about how can Jaune communicates with everyone when only Ruby can hear him. What's a ghost to do when asked to answer in class, but only Ruby can hear him? When Ruby gets a sore throat and can't talk for a day or two, Jaune has to do everything else he can before Glynda calls him out in class and uses his non-answer as 'proof' of skipping. Writing with a pen takes too much energy to do long, while Glynda uses her semblance to keep him from using classroom chalk on the chalkboard. Charades with Ren are mixed. Ghostly movements lead to various characters talking to themselves and trying to ask Jaune to do things to answer yes/no questions. Ultimately Jaune gets an Ouija board, which becomes the go-to medium (badum tish) for the non-seers to ask Jaune questions when Ruby's not around. Jaune needs minimal effort to make the Ouija board work… though sometimes the friends nudge the answers to what they want to hear.

These were the sorts of light-hearted antics of the early phase- where Glynda proposes a challenge for Jaune to overcome, and the friends struggle through trying to find a means for Jaune to live up to the task. Zwei gets introduced early and is able to see Jaune through animal-senses. Jaune starts down the road of possessing electronics when Jaune tries to liven up his boring nights with video games since he doesn't need to sleep- and soon finds he can get 'stuck' in electronic devices or blow out electric circuits from possessing too hard. One electronic device Jaune gets stuck in is one of Blake's toys... before she uses it. This story was either have been a very strong T or a soft M after the initial arc.

Team RWBY even sets up a horror-video ghost cam in their room to try and catch proof of any Jaune hauntings or trespassing, after Weiss suspects Jaune of being a pervert ghost and spying on them in the showers. Optimistic, amusing, and not very serious, the story portrays ghostly Jaune as a guy prone to flippant witticisms and jokes, knowing he can get away with a lot. Jaune gets a reputation for joking- whether be it flipping Glynda's skirt when she tries to insist he's not actually present, or little pranks. Nothing serious, nothing cruel, and everyone's getting closer- especially when Jaune starts slipping into their dreams, even their dirty dreams, starting with Weiss.

Weiss is caught the next morning cleaning her sheets, starting a running gag of Jaune dreams and sheet-cleaning.

Things get less funny when the Jaundice arc comes, and Cardin gets involved. Cardin's still a bully as always- but when Jaune ghost-pranks Cardin to divert him from Velvet, it's personal. Most everyone laughs it off- what's Cardin going to do about it?- but they don't know two things.

One, Cardin isn't a total idiot. He got into Beacon on his own strength.

Two, Cardin is the latest in a long line of exorcists.

Cardin's grudge seems like something Jaune should win easily… until evidence pops up of Jaune's prank habit getting out of control. Creeps in the girl's locker room, thumbtacks in shoes, and worse. Jaune denies it, but who else could it be? Besides, well, everyone, but not one else is taking any credit.

Jaune starts to be viewed with suspicion, and claims he's being framed. His friends believe him at the start, but questions arise when things happen to them as well. Nora is Jaune's most steadfast defender, denying that he's a 'bad ghost.' As rumors circulate, Jaune slowly gets ostracized by the school, with students fearing him. The fear reaches a culminating point when, in a spar gone wrong, Jaune accidentally injures Ren's eyes and forces him into a blindfold for awhile.

A key moment happens on a night on the roof top soon after- where Ruby and Jaune occasionally go up to talk away from everyone else. Ruby's worried about the recent fear of Jaune, and Jaune tries to put her at ease even as he himself feels bad about hurting Ren. In a moment of closeness, Ruby shares her experience of hearing ghosts when she was a child- and the difficulties it brought. After her mother died, Ruby still heard Summer's voice for some time, but no one believed her. Mocked and called crazy, she broke down one day and demanded Summer go away and never bother her again. It was the last time she ever heard her mother's voice, and she's felt guilty ever since. Ever since then, Ruby stopped admitting she could hear ghosts, and pretended she couldn't hear them- until Jaune proved he was real. Ruby doesn't want Jaune to get in trouble and go away, and Jaune promises he won't unless she wants him to. It's a sweet moment, and Ruby's relieved that Jaune is a good ghost.

Until the next day the locker-room mirrors are marked with how Ruby is a momma's girl.

There was no one else there, and no one visible on the security cameras as footage shows a marker raising by an invisible hand. No one can actually see Jaune, but it's damning evidence all the same, and an instant schism between Jaune and Ruby. Ruby, hurt, promptly ignores Jaune, cutting off all translation between Jaune and the friends. Ruby is left crying, and shouts at Jaune not talk to her anymore. She never wants to see him again, and demands he go away.

Jaune obeys- and finds he can't speak to her later if he tries. In fact, he can't even get in her line of sight with any body. Jaune can't approach her, can't talk to her, and an overpowering force sweeps his ghost form aside if he even approaches her field of vision.

Unable to speak in his own defense, Jaune struggles to get his point across to divided friends. Jaune claims he was framed on the Oiuja board and in dreams- but it's hard to believe, particularly when other pranks start targeting Team RWBY and JNPR as well. Spilling dust _up_ Weiss's skirt. Ruining Blake's books. Outing Pyrrha's 'secret' semblance after a break-in to the teacher's files. Jaune's trust and standing with his friends is ruined, until the only people giving him any benfit of the doubt are Ren, Nora, and… Blake?

Blake is the last member of Team RWBY to hold out a hope for Jaune, because if Jaune was the culptrit there's one 'prank' he has left to play- outing her. Jaune discovers Blake is a faunus very early on when he falls into one of her… less clothed… dreams. Jaune promised to keep both the dream and her race a secret- which, if he was truly trying to cause trouble, he wouldn't. Blake starts looking for alternative solutions, and when she checks on Jaune's remains for any clues… she finds them missing.

When she comes back, though, it's too late. Jaune is nowhere to be found, having left one final message of 'Sorry' scratched on the wall and no longer making any ghost signs.

The Jaundice arc comes to a close with Forever Falls, at the lowest of the low. Almost everyone has stopped trying to interact with Jaune, and Jaune has stopped interacting with them. No one even knows if he's actually there, because no one brought Crocea Mors along because no one could find it. When Ren is finally able to remove his bandages, he can't see any sign of Jaune in the room, or anywhere else.

Jaune is trapped within Crocea Mors, sealed by amateur exorcist Cardin Winchester, and being ghost-napped along with the rest of his body to be disposed of in Forever Falls.

Cardin reveals himself to be an Exorcist, and the cause of the troubles- mostly. What Cardin really reveals is that, on top of being an exorcist, he's also a Seer with a grudge against ghosts as much as faunus. Cardin's ghost-sense is the sense of smell, and Jaune bothers him, even before Jaune had pranked him. Jaune really was framed, either by applied semblance or Cardin's familiar (an animal-ghost spirit bound to a person, which Cardin would have kept hidden in his room after RWBY and JNPR missed their chance to see it at the Team Naming ceremony), and Cardin monologues the why. The long story is- Cardin is from a long line of exorcists, Jaune's a ghost, and so naturally an enemy. Dispelling Jaune is a good deed.

Cardin's means for that, however, are not.

Cardin attempts to destroy all of Jaune's ambient aura reserves. Team CRDL desecrates Jaune's body before scattering it across Forever Falls for the Grimm to devour. Cardin tries to destroy Crocea Mors, but can't. The sheath is too strong and cracks his mace instead. Destruction failed, Cardin binds Crocea Mors shut with Exorcist tools that keep Jaune from escaping, and intends to bury it in Forever Falls. Jaune will be trapped, forever, as his energy slowly fades to nothing. He'll go mad, and then he'll go insane from isolation, and only after everyone he's ever known is dead and forgotten will he finally dissipate into nothing.

The seal begins to crack, even as there's a disturbance in the bushes.

While Cardin taunts Jaune, the others begin to realize something's afoot as various pieces slide into place. Blake is the one to prompt it, raising how out-of-character the pranks Jaune is accused of have been from the pranks Jaune did. When people don't believe that, Blake vouches for Jaune's discretion by revealing her own faunus-secret, a reveal that forces everyone to consider when they're told Jaune knew all along. With Blake getting everyone talking again, Ren is finally able to see Team RWBY's ghost-cam footage from Team JNPR's room and confirm that Jaune didn't leave on the night he would have had to do one of the pranks. Weiss, finally, is able to provide an for the nights Jaune is alleged to have 'stolen' Pyrrha's semblance secret from the teachers, as Jaune was in a compromising dream with her that she was too embarrassed to admit earlier.

Collectively it becomes clearer that Jaune is mostly innocent, except there's still no proof that Jaune didn't break Ruby's confidence. Ruby is still upset, and more upset that everyone is trying to treat Jaune as a good ghost, and flees the group. Before they can follow her, Zwei makes a scene and they find parts of Jaune's body- desecrated, scattered, and left for the beowolves. Realizing that Jaune is in trouble, the team splits up- Yang and Weiss after Ruby, NPR after Jaune, and Blake volunteers to gather up as much of Jaune's remains as she can.

Totally selfless, that.

Back with Cardin, things go south when Cardin realizes He Fucked Up. The Ursa Major shows up and knocks them over, until it occurs to Cardin to use Ghost Jaune- still stuck in Crocea Mors- as bait and a distraction. Cardin throws Crocea Mors, the Ursa chews on Crocea Mors, and all it gets for its trouble is snapping the seal. It looks like the Ursa is about to munch on Cardin once and for all when it's impaled by Crocea Mors through the skull. Jaune saves Cardin, ala canon.

Except, when the Grimm dissolves… the ashes begin to stick to Jaune, even as Jaune begins to become be audible to Cardin. The black grimm ashes stick to Jaune like dust, giving him a black form with still-blue eyes, even as Jaune grows angrier and angrier at Cardin's flippant 'guess we're even' attitude. What Cardin did to Jaune, his body, and his friends… he doesn't get off so easy for that. In fact, he doesn't deserve to get off at all. Jaune takes a plunge from intimidating to downright terrifying, as he brandishes Crocea Mors at Cardin and his eyes turn from sky-blue to Grimm-red.

Jaune and Cardin fight, and Jaune has the advantage. Though the Grimm-dust gives him a form and strength, he has all the resilience of his ghost. Cardin's blows go right through him, letting him reform. Whenever Jaune's sword hits, though, Cardin can hear Jaune's thoughts and hatred through the temporary spiritual link of Crocea Mors. Jaune is mad- literally and figuratively- shouting accusations of defiler, desecrator, and malefactor for everything Cardin's done. Ghost-Jaune wins the duel, and has Cardin at sword-point where Cardin pleads for mercy. Cardin argues that he didn't kill Jaune, and so Jaune shouldn't kill him. Jaune raises his sword, in a moment of tension, before lowering it and backing away… and saying he'll leave it to the Grimm instead. Grimm come out of the forest, but instead of attacking Jaune they walk past the Grimm-dust covered Jaune until they surround him, facing Cardin. Jaune raises a hand, ordering them to kill Cardin and devour his soul first… and the Grimm obey his commands.

This is where Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha arrive, and Ren explains what is happening to Pyrrha while Nora reacts in horror. Jaune has become a Revenant- a ghost driven mad with rage and corrupted by the Grimm. Having lost his spiritual balance due to the defilement of his body, Jaune is unstable and has descended into madness as a result. Jaune has become the Bad Ghost people feared he would be, and is intent on murdering Cardin in revenge. The only way to cure him is… there is no cure, only the hope of breaking through his madness.

Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha fight Jaune and the Grimm to save Cardin. Jaune doesn't want to fight them at first, but is angry enough at the interference to duel Pyrrha. Pyrrha is resolute- apologetic she didn't believe him before, but resolved not to let him become a murderer (like her). Pyrrha is unable to damage Jaune, but is able to use her semblance to counter Jaune's ghostly possession of Crocea Mors even when Jaune uses ghost powers that now include limited telekinesis. Jaune's ghost doesn't have to be holding Crocea Mors directly anymore to make it fly or swing, allowing a wider variety of attacks that Pyrrha still counters. It's a stalemate while Ren and Nora clear the Grimm. Ren takes opportunities to use his aura-fist technique to knock Grimm-dust out of Jaune, lessening the corruption.

The battle reaches an emotional crescendo when Jaune gives up relying on his weapons and outright possess a Grimm instead, another Ursa Major. Without metal to manipulate, Pyrrha loses ground and is knocked away. Before he can kill Cardin, Nora throws herself in the way to catch ursa-Jaune in a bear hug. Jaune's exposure to all the Grimm ash-dust has given him the ability to be heard by non-seers as he comes into contact with them, and with it Nora- who's been the strongest defender of Jaune as a good ghost all this time- is able to make a heart-to-heart appeal to Jaune even as Jaune starts to bite her neck.

Biting Nora- creating a direct link between them- allows Jaune to see a flashback of hers and Ren's childhood, where Ren was a Seer and she was the only person who believed him. Nora believed him because he could see her late grandmother, who was Nora's last guardian and still looking after her from the afterlife. Nora believed Ren because Ren was able to infer things only Nora's grandmother would know, and so the two orphans had a spiritual guardian. Nora didn't put her Grandmother's ghost to peace, however, and she recklessly caused her grandmother to use up her residual aura life-force. As her grandmother lost energy she became senile, and in the end after saving Nora from a foolish mistake her Grandmother too became a Bad Ghost and a Revenant. It took an Exorcist to forcible exorcise Nora's grandmother of Grimm-ash with a lantern-like artifact, taking the Grandmother away before she could move on peacefully.

Nora bears a lot of guilt for corrupting her Grandmother into a monster, and has accompanied Ren since then trying to make up for it by helping ghosts be good ghosts rather than bad. This showed up in initiation when Nora and Weiss fought. Nora begs Jaune to be a good ghost even as he's biting her. The connection, and the realization of what he's done and becoming, stuns Jaune and shocks him back into sanity. Jaune's ursa possession stops, the red eyes turn blue, and Jaune-in-bear-form reciprocates the bear hug as he starts to stand down.

Cardin ruins a good thing when he uses the pause to attack Jaune from behind- crushing the Ursa's skull, but also knocking Nora at the same time.

Nora crumbles, bleeding from the head and the neck, and the Ursa dissolves into ash that reverses all the progress made so far. With Nora down, Jaune's rage returns as he turns on Cardin to finish him once and for all. Jaune's attempt at a final blow with crocea mors is stopped by both Ren and Pyrrha- Ren catching the blade bare-handed, and Pyrrha using all the magnetism she can to counter Jaune's ghost-force. Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune have a tree way struggle as the two try to stop Jaune.

Jaune's murderous intent is less insane than before, and more of his righteous fury over Cardin as a murderer and defiler. Ren and Pyrrha refuse to let Jaune corrupt himself over Cardin, even they promise to hold Cardin to account. The promise of justice- and Nora surviving if they stop fighting now to get help- appeases Jaune's anger. Jaune emotionally crumbles from rage to sorrow- almost breaking down over how Cardin not only hurt his friends, but hurt _him_ personally, as the defilement of Jaune's body is treated as analogous to rape. Jaune is unstable due to how the violation, desecration, and harm to his soul, and anger gives way to hurt and sorrow. Ren's promise to hold Cardin responsible convinces Jaune, letting him re-find his balance and regain control. Jaune the Revenant stops pressing, and the eyes shift back to blue for the last time.

Just in time for Ruby to show up on the sidelines.

Ruby is a late arrival, right at the end. During the fight she was sulking over the team's belief that Jaune was good, even as war torn between insisting he was not but wishing it was. Ruby sulks until Zwei finds her and brings her one of Jaune's bones. Realizing that Jaune is in trouble, Ruby wants to help him even if she's upset. When she realizes she doesn't know where to start looking, Ruby is guided by a ghostly whisper to the fight- where, without context, she sees what looks like Jaune trying to kill Ren and Cardin.

Ruby calls out for Jaune to stop- and that signals the end of the fight. Ruby's arrival might as well banish Jaune, as Grimm ash falls away like flaking skin. With a final wordless look at Ruby, Jaune lowers himself into the earth, scraping off the Grimm ash as goes where she can not see. The last Grimm dust is blown away over the cliff, until nothing remains.

Jaune is gone- not in Crocea Mors, not anywhere Ren can see, and still not saying anything... just as Ruby demanded. All that's left is an empty Crocea Mors, beside a comatose Nora who needs care.

Forever Falls ends on a down note. Even though the truth is out and Cardin is forced to confess, Jaune is gone and so there is no reconciliation. Cardin is in extreme trouble with Glynda, who reacts with horror at the news of desecration, and blames him for both what Jaune became and also what he almost did. Glynda is furious, but Glynda's wrath in their favor isn't worth Nora being hurt and Jaune gone. Ruby is left knowing Jaune was never responsible... but he's not responding to her attempts to call him now either. Moreover, the desecration of Jaune's body has destroyed much of Jaune's residual aura reserves. However long he had before, he has far less now. Some of the defilement can be undone by giving Jaune's body a proper burial with purifying flames, but Cardin took a significant amount of Jaune's afterlife away.

A chapter of Beacon without Jaune occurs, as life without a ghost is… different.

Cardin is expelled from school, both for hurting Nora and corrupting a ghost into a Revenant. Cardin's expulsion shows Ozpin on the bad side of the Exorcists, since Cardin was supposed to be a bridge-building between Ozpin and the Exorcist organization. It means more poor ties, but Nora's injuries are enough. Without Cardin, the ghost pranks stop, proving it wasn't Jaune all along.

Nora eventually wakes up, but is subdued when Jaune's absence is reported. Despite having a private funeral- and Blake throwing a farewell barbeque at the same time where she insists everyone eat her 'secret recipie'- Jaune misses his own funeral. The teams have to lie and cheat to claim Jaune is present for Glynda's attendance tests. Pyrrha raises a pen magenetically, Ren claims to understand Jaune's answers. Glynda is implied to know the truth, but pretends not to. Meanwhile, Ruby is left alone- no 'I told you so's, no whispers, and no ghosts. Ruby goes back to the rooftop, and discovers Cardin's room is right below, and understands what happened. More guilt, and more angst.

Ruby makes a verbal apology to Jaune- not knowing if he's there or not- but apologizing anyway for doubting him and accusing him of being a bad ghost. She regrets dismissing him, just like she regrets how she dismissed her mother, as now she suspects the two are linked. Ruby takes back what she said- including her demand that they never talk to her again- and hopes against hope that he'll talk to her now.

He doesn't. But someone else does.

A faint but familiar whisper calls Ruby's name. It's the same whisper that guided her in Forever Falls and even earlier during the Emerald Forests, leading her to Jaune both times. The voice never responds to her but guides her through the school with a single repeated word of 'come.' Ruby wanders Beacon, led by faint whispers, until she's lead to the kitchen. In the kitchen are pans and batter and all the ingredients for baking. Crocea Mors' sword is used as a spatula- the shield as an oven mitt.

The motion stops when she enters, Crocea Mors clattering on the counter- dropped as if catching someone red handed. Except there's no one to be seen.

Ruby calls out Jaune's name, questioning, but gets no verbal response. Instead, the oven door opens, and a tray with dozens of cookies emerges. The tray levitates to her as if being offered, and on the cookies is written a simple message.

Forgive me?

Ruby does, breaking down and giving Jaune permission to talk again. With speaking privileges restored Jaune apologizes for upsetting her, Ruby apologizes for making him apologize and driving him off when she should have believed, and Jaune possesses Ruby's cloak to give her a ghostly hug as they reunite. With tears of joy and relief, Ruby helps Jaune finish baking the cookies, which are an apology/get-well present for Nora as much as her.

The final scene of the chapters ends with Ruby opening the door to the infirmary with the tray of cookies. Everyone else look at her, before Nora brightens in joy as the tray of apology cookies picks itself up out of Ruby's hands and floats forward.

/

End Jaundice Arc

/

Author Notes:

The first of a whole lot of summary/planning notes I wrote for a Halloween release. I realize it's not Halloween everywhere now, but it is where I am, so consider this the extra treat for you. This section was review and backstory and what Season 1, the most planned season, would have been. Season 1 will finish tomorrow, and it includes more than just Blake and the docks.

The Jaundice Arc was ultimately one of the most thought-about arcs, as the entire part of Jaune turning into a Revenant played through my heads so many times in so many ways. It's really the lowest the story ever gets- where trusts are broken, the perpetrator is there, and where righteous anger mixes with vengeance for something dark and dangerous. The fight- and the moments of Nora drawing Jaune back to the brink of sanity- and then the struggle where Jaune is once more saved in spirit by his friends, only to disappear when Ruby arrives right at the end... leaving because that's what she'd said, even if it wasn't what she wanted...

It would have been tear-jerking, yo. Jaune disappearance would have been an entire chapter of guilt and angst. I would have made it hurt, if only so that the reunion would be all the sweeter. One of my favorite moments I wish I'd written.

Otherwise- a lot of important developments here, even if they aren't obvious at the time. Gradual world building still establishing new dynamics.

More to follow over the next few days. Treats almost every day this week, just for you. Let me know how you like them.


	8. Season One Second Half Second Life

The Rest of Season One

/

The Jaundice arc and first half of season one was intended to mark a significant departure from canon in terms of direction. It was to raise the stakes early on and show the vulnerability of Jaune as a ghost- that he can't be killed conventionally, but that he can still fall. Cardin's expulsion itself wouldn't cause a divergence, but it serves to bring in the wider threat of the exorcists. Finally, the main problem of the story plot shifts away from 'Glynda is trying to get Jaune expelled' and more towards 'How will Jaune survive?' The question of a long-term survival strategy for Jaune becomes paramount as Jaune's aura usage becomes critical.

Some other significant changes occurred as well, though some were brushed over. Blake revealed herself as a faunus, which represents a divergence. Jaune started dipping into people's dreams, with adult connotations. And, of course, Ruby and Jaune are much closer.

The rest of the story was nowhere near as tightly planned as the above, and would have been written as it went along. Everything that followed was sketched out on the go over a week, as I was writing this Halloween treat.

/

Season One Continued- Of Bodies and Brides

The post-Jaundice arc is a period of recovery and general reconciliation. Everyone's forgiven each other, but the aftermath shows in various ways.

To start, Jaune has grown up, ditching the irresponsibility he'd picked up before and no longer being so flippant or irresponsible. Realizing how his action, and reputations, can still have consequences despite being dead, Jaune matures a bit and even makes a peace of sorts with Miss Goodwitch by taking classes much more seriously.

The group as a whole is closer together as well, as the incident brought up secrets and shared trusts and everything else. Jaune is closer with everyone, obviously, and everyone who fell for Cardin's tricks feels guilty as well, but there's more to it than that. Team JNPR is tight- with Nora's past revealed, Pyrrha's resolve to stop Jaune before he went too far much appreciated, and Ren's stepping up to purify him and then hold Cardin to account tying it all together. Jaune and RWBY are closer together as well- Jaune and Ruby herself are almost inseparable as they repair their friendship, but Blake's insight was crucial, and Jaune's presence in their dreams has helped there as well. Everyone's closer with Jaune, and Jaune's closer with everyone.

But there are also some other concerns as well. Blake's reveal of why she trusted Jaune- her reveal that she's a Faunus- comes back into play once the dust has settled. For the most part, Blake's faunus-nature is an awkward thing that doesn't get addressed, as everyone's too uneasy on how to address it. Instead they focus on Jaune's now much-shorter afterlifespan, as the friends are concerned just how much he has left.

The new arc- call it coddling the Arc arc- revolves around everyone's attempts to find a solution so that Jaune won't run out of ambient aura. Since Jaune's dream/regret keeping him from passing on is that he wanted to become a Hunter, ie. graduate, he needs to survive long enough to finish Beacon. Jaune's not allowed to exert himself to any real degree as they try different ideas and theories, to various (comedy-filled) effects. The ideas focus between getting Jaune a new body that won't use up residual aura, or getting him a new source of aura to use.

The body idea is the first and foremost. After Jaune has possessed something enough times, he leaves behind enough residual aura that it's 'his' and he doesn't need to expend anymore to possess it. Right now, that includes a teddy bear Jaune uses as a proxy-body. Weiss and Ruby lead an effort to make Jaune a new body- a robot body- for him to call his own but can also act without him expending energy. Using old droid parts, Jaune attempts to possess robots, to mixed effect. He can possess them, but tends to blow out the speakers and so can't speak. Jaune's robot body becomes an ongoing project, and joke, as every time Jaune encounters a new robot body it inevitably gets brutally destroyed. This replaces the flesh-and-blood gore of the Initiation arc with nuts and bolts (or, with his doll-body, getting the stuffing knocked out of him).

Ren, Nora, and Blake focus on the idea of trying to restore his defiled body in some way- namely by reading up on ghost lore in the library. Blake joins in, more to avoid her team and questions of faunus. Nora reads about homunculi- artificial humans ghosts could posses- but they seem like just a myth. en tries to research how to undo Cardin's defilement in order to restore/preserve what aura they still can from Jaune's body. Blake reads old horror and gothic literature- and finds tales of old faunus covens of witches who consorted with Ghosts and Grimm, married the dead, and had their dreams haunted by their spirit-spouses.

Key ingredient for a good spirit marriage? Heart. Literally, though any cannibalism will do in a pinch.

(Blake keeps that book a secret.)

The fate of Jaune's body is some busy work. Because of Cardin's actions, most of the body needs to be destroyed in fire to be cleansed- losing most of the aura, but ending the spiritual corruption that could taint Jaune again if he comes into contact with Grimm ash again. After stripping the meat and cleaning the bones, the remains of Jaune's skeleton are given a funeral ceremony to honor, rather than dishonor, the corpse. It's a morbidly weird affair, with Jaune not only being late to his own funeral but bringing gifts for his friends. These gifts- relics made from his bones- are given out during a post-funeral BBQ hosted by Blake out of the kindness of Jaune's heart.

Everyone from both teams agrees that Blake's special recipe is the best and want more, but Blake has to demur. She's run out of her special ingredients, and store-bought just isn't the same. It's a shame, but that's that. The BBQ and the Funeral is a success, purifying Jaune's body and soul while bringing everyone together. From then on, Jaune finds that he can enter the dreams of all the friends, even the ones of Team JNPR he hadn't previously been able to.

As for his bones-

Jaune's skull is preserved and secured deep within Beacon by Ozpin, where it serves to the last of his body's ambient aura. If Jaune runs down to that last aura, he and his skull will be sent back to his family. Until then, Jaune is dependent on the Crocea Mors reserves. The rest of his bones are re-purposed. Zwei steals a few chew toys, but other parts…

In order to negate the desecration, Jaune's remains get turned into relics by Glynda Goodwitch. These little mementos of him are given to each member of the teams to be treated with care and carry small bits of his residual aura. The idea is that every member of the Sisterhood who Murdered Jaune will carry a bit of their favorite victim with them, protecting his body going forward. Even if one of them falls Jaune won't fall victim to another Cardin, while as long as any of them survives Jaune will have something to retreat into to sustain himself. It's just another ritual that brings the coven- as the Sisterhood who murdered Jaune is called by Glynda- closer together, binding them to Jaune in the process.

The Relics, covered later, gradually manifest some supernatural powers of their own. Jaune can sense/'see' the glimmer of himself even from far away, so that he can always know where they (and thus his friends) are. They become lode stones for guiding Jaune's ghost to them from long distances away. And they give each person a special ghost-power appropriate to them. Pyrra, for example, gets a bone-compass that always points towards Jaune, helping her find her partner even though she can't see or hear him.

Before and after the funueral, Yang and Pyrrha work on training Jaune to be more efficient with his fighting and use of ghost powers, trying to figure out what works and how to make it more efficient. It's after the funeral that Yang and Jaune discover that he can possess her berserk form and displace her soul, turning Yang into a ghost herself in an out-of-body experience.

The Yang ghost mini-arc consists of Jaune living as Yang and Yang playing the ghost. Comedy results when Yang actually refuses to go back into her body, having fun playing a perverted/trickster ghost while Jaune deals with her life (while also getting to remember the pleasures of the flesh… like dealing with Yang's cramps and cycle. And eating cake. So much cake.). Jaune and Yang both being outside her body leads to ghost-on-ghost interaction, as the two ghosts can touch and even wrestle with each other,but Yang refuses to go back into her body because she's having so much fun. Without her or Jaune in it, Yang's soulless berserk form is, in the words of Weiss, indistinguishable from the original- brutish, unthinking, and driven by base instinct.

Shenanigans happen, comedy is involved, but danger happens when Yang's body gets lost and can't be found. Because her body's still 'alive' Yang lacks the residual aura to survive as a ghost for long. Yang starts going through what Jaune will when his aura runs out for real- and excruciatingly and painful drawn-out perma-death. While ghosts will phase out of existence when they're low of aura but they still have a source to recharge from (like Jaune at the end of initiation), running out of residual aura entirely is something else- a painful, incapacitating experience like a mix of starvation and withdrawal symptoms. Ghost-Yang is incapacitated with pain, and the friends race to find Yang's body so that she can return. To heighten the tension, Yang's body is found by the remainder of Team CRDL, who are more than willing to take their revenge against Yang's body, making the search a race against time in more than one respect.

While the friends race off, ghost-Jaune stays by ghost-Yang's side, trying to help her. When things get real bad, ghost magic happens when Jaune begs/pleads to share the Arc-family aura reserves with her.

Things get surreal when Crocea Mors itself talks back and refuses. Floating on its own without Jaune's assistance, the Arc blade speaks and explains that the Arc Aura reserves built up within Crocea Mors are only accessible for members of the family. Crocea Mors says a strange thing in which he claims that Jaune and Yang are _already_ in a 'spirit marriage,' but dismisses spirit marriage as 'something anyone even a little hungry can do.' The Arc Aura reserves are for _family_ , so unless Yang is a member…

Jaune says she is, and when challenged swears she will be. Crocea Mors has to accept it, but only if Yang goes along with it. The spirit of the sword officiates an 'official' ghost marriage between Jaune and Yang, questioning them in the frame of wedding vows with ghostly twists like 'at death do you start.' Once they affirm their vows to care for each other 'in sickness and death,' a spiritual link is formed between Jaune and Yang in the form of a red string. The red string- visible only briefly to Yang- allows Yang to start feeling the residual aura flowing to her from Jaune . As she stabilizes, Yang can see a number of other paler red strings connected to Jaune. Jaunce can't see them at all, and Yang later wonders if she imagined it, but what she does see is another six strings stretching into the distance. Yang stabilizes, and Yang and Jaune's ghosts hold on to each other, weak but undead, until the friends come back with Yang's body. Yang's body is fine- having been berserk and so easily crushing Team CRDL before anything bad could happen. Yang returns to her body, safe, and after reassuring Ruby she's fine she passes out promising to thank Jaune later.

That night, when Jaune floats into Team RWBY's room to checks on Yang, he's abruptly tugged into Yang's dream by a force he can't resist. It's like falling into a dream, only he's tugged by his finger, and when he comes in Yang he finds in a wedding dress and clearly embarrassed to be. Yang's as confused about the apparel as he is, unable to change it in the normally malleable dreamscapes, but maybe Jaune can help her out of it? She promised to thank him, and wouldn't dream of going back on her word...

Yang wakes up the next morning a bit sore but in good cheer… and very embarrassed to realize she needs to change her sheets. She's caught by Weiss and Blake, and 'Jaune Dreams' become a running inside joke amongst the Sisterhood.

The follow-up of the arc is that the next day, after some awkwardness between ghost-Jaune and an almost literally glowing Yang, who's aura is shimmering despite being a bit lower than usual. Jaune is brimming with energy- and aura that's not his own. Ren is able to see that Jaune now has a bit of Yang's aura surrounding him, which is being used instead of Jaune's own when Jaune uses a power. Yang and Jaune admit they shared a dream, and Jaune brings up what Crocea Mors had talked about yesterday about sharing aura. It works both ways now- at least a bit- and Ren and Blake's reading suggests that anyone who shares dreams with Jaune should be able to do the same.

Jaune Dreams end up being the stop-gap for Jaune's aura-loss, as whoever's dreams he enters can 'loan' some aura to Jaune for the next day. Jaune can't store it, and it comes at a cost of taking aura away from whomever, but it saves Jaune from having to use up his own energy. Jaune's residual aura still gets tapped into if he has to do serious ghost powers, but Jaune Dreams prove to be the stop-gap to cover his day-to-day existential needs.

(The question of Jaune's sword speaking is posed, but unanswered for now as Crocea Mors doesn't respond to Jaune or anyone else's attempts to talk to it. Ren can see any foreign spirit inside it either- just the aura of the Arcs.)

Sans some pertinent information, the arc ends with everyone very happy at the discovery on how to help Jaune's energy rows. When Ren volunteers to help, Blake fantasizes. When Nora and Pyrrha volunteer as well, Weiss is uncomfortable. And when Ruby tries to volunteer, only for Yang to vehemently reject that… Yang is left to explain why when Jaune flees and leaves it to her to explain.

(Spoiler- dirty dreams are actually optional for mana-sharing. Fate/stay night this is not.)

/

The final arc of Season One is finally the Blake Arc.

Blake's faunus heritage has been recognized, but not really addressed while everyone was focused on Jaune's issue. Now that Jaune is stabilized- with everyone taking turns on who he'll borrow energy from each night- attention turns back to Blake.

At this time, only Blake, Yang, and Weiss know of each other's dirty dreams with Jaune, as they're the only to have had dirty dreams, and that's what brings up the topic of Blake's heritage. Yang and Weiss realize how Jaune knew Blake's secret- it must be because Blake wasn't wearing her bow in a dreams. This brings up what else Jaune knows about them that others don't, and the subject of secrets and their dreams. They're all embarrassed for their own reasons- Blake's Jaune Dream was a Ninja's of Love self-insertion fantasy, Weiss's Jaune Dream way back before they realized what was happening had her dominating him and taking his virginity, and Yang's dreams since the last Jaune Dream have revolved around rings and wedding dresses. Embarrassed as they are, all three of them drop the subject for now, but the question of what other sorts of secrets they're hiding from each other is raised.

The topic of secrets haunts Blake, for understandable reasons, and comes up during a Jaune Dream night where Jaune enters her dreams to borrow aura. Once everyone realized that any Jaune in their dreams was quite possibly the real Jaune, most Jaune dreams aren't dirty but rather rare periods where the non-seers can see and interact with Jaune. Blake and Jaune got much closer after the Cardin incident, when Jaune hid Blake's secret and Blake helped him in turn, and it comes back around when Blake feels she needs to talk about the White Fang as well. Blake shares, and Jaune tells her to come out about (because, compared to being part of a murderous cult of cannibals, what's a little terrorism between friends?), and Blake appreciates the perspective and promises to try.

(Jaune doesn't actually know about the Cannibalism- no one does- so Blake's secret is safe until those who know how spirit marriages are actually started arrive.)

When it comes time for Team RWBY to go to the docks to see the incoming students, Jaune follows- joining in the form of his teddy bear body. It's Jaune's first time out of Beacon since his death, and so he wants to go along. Along the way they meet Penny- who is terrified of ghosts. In addition to Penny the group finds exorcists investigating the dust robbery. The exorcists recognizes them as Beacon students and stops to ask them questions about Jaune. The girls lie about Jaune, but the exorcists are clearly sniffing around.

The exorcist return is tense, as the Exorcists are immediately suspicious and interested in Jaune for not-friendly reasons. Their perspective is tainted by Cardin's side of the story, while they talk about Jaune as an inherent danger to everyone. One Exorcists in particular stands out- the apparent leader- and he has a presence that is professionally opposed rather than personally hostile. This Exorcist OC- a reoccurring character- is able to note that Cardin committed a taboo of their own by desecreating the body, something only a 'flawed' exorcists would do, but even so casts Jaune as inherently dangerous. The Exorcist OC takes special note of Ruby and Ren, but lets them leave without issue.

The exorcists become the argument link to the crisis point of the White Fang. Nora believes the Exorcists likely made more ghosts into bad ghosts, like how the Schnees made faunus into the White Fang, etc. etc. Blake is revealed, and when she runs away Jaune latches on with his doll to stow away, clinging to her rear. By this time Jaune has gotten enough control over electronics to speak using the doll's speakerphone, and so Blake is seen in public having two-way conversations with a talking stuffed bear. The weirdness factor for Sun goes up when he tries to help out the 'creepy but cute' Blake.

When Sun and Blake go on their stakeout, Jaune tags with, but feels a need to get help. Able to sense/'see' his relics with Team JNPR and RWBY from far away, Jaune is able to use them as Beacons to move faster than he ever has before. Jaune finds Ren first, asleep, and enters his dream to warn him about Blake plans. Ren wakes up, and goes to get RWBY, and Jaune returns to Blake on the stakeout. Blake takes a nap while waiting, and Jaune enters her dream for Significant Character Interaction. Jaune tells her what he's done, says Team RWBY is behind Blake and coming to help despite her doubts, and Jaune is sticking around to haunt her into better common sense in the meantime. Blake is cheered by the solidarity, even if she worries about Weiss in particular, and thanks Jaune. Blake's woken up when the docks happen.

The dock battle is different… because the docks are haunted, and not by Jaune. During the battle crates start levitating, ghostly influences start, and it's clear that there are angry spirits at work. Somehow the White Fang is working with Ghosts, and no one's sure how. Sun and Blake's weapons have no effect on the ghosts, putting them at a disadvantage. Fortunately Jaune, a ghost himself, is uniquely suited for seeing and dealing with the half-mad ghosts. In his hands, Crocea Mors is even able to affect them, and the Yellow Death starts to glow brighter with each ghost 'slain.' The battle is dramatic, and Teams RWBY and JNPR arrives in style,and Jaune's sword Crocea Mors even starts talking again... but mostly to warn Jaune to flee when the Exorcists from earlier arrive.

The Exorcists deal with the ghosts much more effectively than the friends was able to, especially since normal weapons go right through ghosts. Only Jaune can fight the ghosts evenly, though Yang has limited success when she goes ghost and her body goes berserk against the Whtie Fang. Even though the Exorcists can't see the ghosts, only their effects, they have anti-ghost techniques and use Dust powder to be able to track the ghosts (and Jaune). The Exorcists don't distinguish between Jaune and the bad ghosts either. They try to banish Jaune, and ultimately do confiscate and destroy the toy doll that Jaune had been inhabiting. It's another aura loss for Jaune, but the exorcists aren't total villains. The Exorcist OC, realizing what happens to Yang, seals her spirit back in her body and simply chides her for risking herself. After a tense negotiation/appeal from Ren, the Exorcist OC allows them all to leave. Jaune escapes by hiding in Ruby's cloak, while Weiss hides Crocea Mors rather high up her skirt.

Things resolve as the team reunites. Questions spread as enemies become clear- the White Fang is up to no good, but how are they involved with Ghosts? The Exorcists are a separate faction in and of themselves- not necessarily villains, but definitely no friend of theirs. Team RWBY is concerned, but gladder that Blake is back and safe. There's thanks for Jaune.

Afterwards, that night, Jaune is checking up on Blake in her dream and interrupts what could have been a steamy scene with dream-Sun. Blake dismisses it without regrets, though, and is pleased to see Jaune. Back with her team, Blake is able to admit that Jaune was right and she was wrong about the issue with her friends. More than that, though, Jaune stuck around and looked out for her and kept her secrets, like a… well, a diary, or secret keeper, or even her own personal guardian angel. Thanks for that. Blake promises to loan Jaune more aura more often, to make up for what was lost in the bear that was destroyed.

The dream fades to black with Blake tugging Jaune forward and binding him with a little red ribbon Jaune finds connecting them in the dream. Loaning aura doesn't require anything in particular, but if it's her dreams and their little secret, then maybe Jaune can keep one more and make up for what he interrupted earlier.

Truth is, Blake's a bit of a man-eater…

Season one ends with Blake waking up early to do her own early morning laundry, to the knowing eyes of Weiss and Yang. Blake smirks like the cat that caught a canary.

/

End Season 1

/

Author Notes:

It's not a harem, it's a coven of murderous man-eaters. Totally different.

I honestly thought Jaune Dreams might be more of a deal-breaker for some people than the gore and vore, considering the well-deserved bad reputation harem fics have. This wasn't intended to be a harem story though as much as... well, really outside the usual context. The focus of the story isn't on a comedic cast of love interests cutely crushing in a never-ending will-they-won't-they. Even calling it a relationship is misleading- it's more like an imaginary friend with benefits sort of thing. Jaune Dreams aren't even suspect in the first place (after the first few, before they realize what's happening), most are platnoic, and in those that aren't Jaune serves more as a participant than a target of fantasy. For this early story, it's just healthy growing girls and the ghost that occasionally haunts their dreams.

What's more important is the idea of spirit marriage, which is actually pretty important to the story. Spirit marriage isn't something inherently romantic and more of a spiritual bond, and that's what grows over the course of the story.

Otherwise, here's season one. Roughly six arcs (Initiation, Early Beacon, Cardin, Funeral, Yang, Blake) of shenanigans and establishing ghost mechanics on the grounds of inference rather than explicit explanation.

The second half of season one is where the story might have gone from a strong T to a soft M. While writing lemons wasn't in the plan, addressing sex-dreams definitely was. More implied than not, there would still be some quasi-lime/heavy stuff during some of the early dreams. Sex humor is best humor, especially when necrophilia can be thrown in.

(I swear, half the fun of initiation was to see just how much I could get away with on people who'd normally never read such things. The warning tag for this story would be epic and disturbing, and it only gets worse.)


	9. Season Two Too Many Endings

Season 1.5 - 2

And so it continues. That was about as far as rough outline planning at the time went- everything in season two and beyond was in broad strokes as best. Season Two was to have broadly similar events as canon, but with increasingly different ghost and character plots. Since the character plots are covered later, that makes Seasons 1.5 and 2 the shortest in summary, actually.

Season 1.5, aka the fallout of the Docks, features the rise of the Exorcists as a faction in response to the White Fang use of ghosts.

The Big Discovery of the Docks wasn't Roman's cooperation with the White Fang, but that the White Fang is using angry faunus ghosts as a new weapon in their war against the Schnees. Or human oppression. Or both. Roman's crime wave becomes a wave of ghost attacks- with 'gas explosions,' electrical shortages, and other implicit ghost-damage occurring across the city. The wave of incidents corresponds to a wave a paranormal reports, as people who never knew they had ghost senses are coming into contact wit ghosts. The White Fang isn't causing casualties- yet- by restraining their attacks to midnight, but the war between White Fang and Schnees gives them who knows how many ghosts to use, and they are causing tension and fear. Midnight becomes known as the Witching Hour, when parents lock their doors and the streets are empty at night.

Except for the Exorcists.

The Exorcists emerge as a major faction to combat the White Fang's use of ghosts. Though the war is secret at first- neither side announcing the role of ghosts- the Exorcists are influential Hunters who take responsibility for keeping the streets safe at night. They work, tensely at times, with Beacon, but mostly on their own. The authorities trust them, as most Exorcists are Respected Pillars of the Community, even if the Exorcists are just as secretive about their means, methods, and the ghosts as Ozpin is. As far as the government is aware, the Exorcists are concerned citizens/retired Hunters helping with the White Fang and dangerous semblances, not actual ghost hunters. The Exorcists hunt ghosts, and Teams RWBY and JNPR go on Jaune-and-one patrols to hunt the White Fang, and they sometimes cross paths and clash.

During this set-up period, some good news happens as well- Ren and Nora get together and start a relationship at Jaune's instigation. This is covered more in the character sections later, but after their help in the Cardin arc, Jaune is better friends with Ren and Nora and ships Renora. Since the BBQ, Jaune has been able to enter their dreams as well, getting closer to them now that they can talk and share thoughts. Ren's role as Team Leader has made him more expressive and willing to admit his feelings in the privacy of his dreams: he likes Nora, and knows she likes him, but considers her too important to risk losing in a relationship that might fail. Nora's pining, which even Jaune knows, but doesn't know Ren knows. Jaune- with the trust of both parties- pushes both of them to dare to do what Jaune never had a chance to do in life. With Ruby eagerly helping set the conditions, Jauen tricks Ren and Nora into a date, and leads them to start a relationship. Both are happy, and grateful, and oddly enough from that point on any time Jaune is in a dream with one of them for totally platonic aura transfer, it becomes a (non-dirty) three-way as the Ren, Nora, and Jaune share dreams. Jaune isn't so much third wheel as the catalyst that lets them get closer together, and their happiness is his happiness.

Meanwhile, the Exorcists are frenemies- mostly hostile to Jaune, but willing to make common cause against worse bad Jaune and the others help during some of the Witching Hours, the Exorcists will try to seal or banish Jaune, but prioritize 'worse' ghosts doing active harm. This is reflected by some events in which Jaune and a friend or three visit Vale at night, trying to investigate or help. Jaune's friends- identified by the Exorcists as a Coven- protect Jaune from the Exorcists as much as Jaune protects them from the ghosts. One of the key Exorcists is the Exorcist Original Character (OC), introduced as a leader at the Docks. The Exorcist reaches out to Ozpin against the new threat, but also to Ren and Ruby as Seers.

Rather than hate Seers, as they were rumored to do back during the Witch Hunts of ye long time ago that drove the tribal Seers into hiding and near-extinction, the Exorcists value seers for their ability to hunt down ghosts even the Exorcists usually can't sense. With the return of ghosts on a wider scale, the Exorcists are faced with changing their ways to adapt to the changing world, and that could mean tolerating 'good' ghosts like Jaune, at least for a little while, in order to focus on the bad ghosts. While the Seers have means to trap, seal, or banish ghosts, they're critical weakness is finding them in the first place. Without Seers or Listeners like Ren and Ruby, they're limited.

After a series of skirmishes, the Exorcist OC proposes a truce of sorts to Ren and Ruby- in exchange for their Seer senses against the ghosts, and possession of Crocea Mors to harm ghosts, he'll refrain from targetting Jaune specifically so long as Jaune is good and stays discretely out of the way. It'd protect Jaune, but the team doesn't trust the exorcists to not dispell Jaune's Arc aura reserves in Crocea Mors, and Ruby in particular refuses to have anything to do with banishing ghosts. Ren is also pro-Jaune, but is clearly tempted by a sweetening of the offer, where the Exorcist offers Ren access to exorcists libraries of ghost lore in exchange for his ghost sight. The Exorcist lore might help them understand or expand Jaune's ghostly powers, or even have a way to help Jaune live longer as well.

During this phase, Jaune comes to terms with himself, and Crocea Mors. Crocea Mors is a weapon spirit- specifically, an Arc who never had chance to live, and so inhabited Crocea Mors instead. During the docks, Crocea Mors demonstrated an ability to harm ghosts, but also 'shined' at each ghost 'slain.' Crocea Mors is a reclusive, quiet spirit, who doesn't talk much and avoids talking with Ruby, but during Season 1.5 Jaune is finally able to get it to talk during these ghost-hunts at night. The two have friction because Jaune (and Yang) are tapping into the same Arc Aura reserves that Crocea Mors needs to survive. Crocea Mors was content to be silent and watch Jaune die, but now that Jaune (and Yang when a ghost) are using up aura it's an issue of mutual survival.

Crocea Mors- the Yellow Death- not only has the ability to hurt ghosts, but can drain their ghostly aura for itself. This 'vampirism' effect on ghosts increases it's aura reserves- giving Jaune extended after-life- but takes that same after-life-sustaining aura from the ghosts it's used against. Having seen what happened to Yang to go through aura starvation, Jaune is afraid of this dark power. Jaune is afraid of becoming a Bad Ghost again, and this power could be too corruptive- what if he turns to killing people, and then their ghosts, just to survive? Crocea Mors doesn't see much issue with that- having hard views that the only old ghosts are those that learned to survive at any cost, even if it means preying on the dead- and that causes character friction between Jaune and his sword. This leads to Jaune refusing to use Crocea Mors at key moments, even when it means letting bad ghosts get away and hurt his friends.

Jaune's friends- his coven as the Exorcists call them- become key to getting Jaune over his hiccup. It brings them together as Jaune shares his concerns and fears with them in the dreams when he apologizes for the (minor) injuries they received. The fact that he's concerned, and sharing that concern, helps the bonding in their own ways. Nora is delighted that Jaune is committed to being a good ghost, while Ren takes Jaune's concerns of corruption seriously. Pyrrha shares values of self-discipline so that he can remain stable. Ruby tries to befriend Crocea Mors by talking to it, which is a stretch because Crocea Mors is both reclusive and painfully blunt. Yang has a special connection to the issue, as she's both the most at danger from Crocea Mors- who could kill her quickly as a ghost with little residual aura- but also tied to the issue of draining aura from it. After talking it over, both Yang and Blake try to offer more nightly aura in the Jaune Dreams so that Jaune won't need to use Crocea Mors. 'Offering more aura' means 'dirty Jaune dreams,' which Blake treats as a spirit-friends-with-benefits deal even as she's being courted by Sun. Yang jokes of it as a spirit-wifely duty, but privately vows to give more aura back than she takes away from Jaune's after-life.

On top of the 'need to stop bad ghosts from hurting good people' angle, they also, in their own ways, reassure Jaune that they'll not only hold Jaune back and stop him if he goes out of control, but protect him from going out of control in the first place. Not just Ruby and Ren, but all of them have a connection to Jaune via their dreams and their relics, and they'll help keep Jaune on a good path.

One of the key moments of this comes with Weiss, who since the first accidental dirty dream Jaune has started a friendship with based around the privacy and discretion of her dreams, where Weiss is uninhibited in her real thoughts. After a cat-nap dream during their Witching Hour patrol/search for White Fang, Jaune and Weiss discuss his fears and the idea of self-control. Weiss can understand the idea of self-control better than anyone else, and so she empathizes with Jaune's fear. Weiss provides a bit more discipline- and keeps Jaune in line- when Jaune gets dragged into a ghost chase, and gets caught in a Grimm Ash trap set by the Exorcists. Jaune starts to corrupt again, until Weiss orders him to compose himself and calls him back.

Weiss inadvertently discovers one of the powers of the relics- Summoning- which allows the Sisterhood to call Jaune to them no matter the distance. Jaune can resist, but it's hard, and in this case he doesn't want to. Deferring to Weiss's will, Jaune returns- and, in the process of flying through walls and everything else, loses the Grimm Ash as well. Jaune is safe, thanks to his coven... but Crocea Mors can't go through the buildings, and so is left behind and captured by the Exorcists. By The Exorcist (OC), who now has leverage over the rest of Jaune's life.

Uh oh.

The Exorcist OC calls out the coven for negotiations. The Exorcists could keep Crocea Mors itself as an anti-ghost weapon, but they already have anti-ghost weapons. What they really want are the Seers to help them find more ghosts. Nora hates the Exorcists already for banishing her grandmother, and hates them more for holding Jaune hostage, but Ruby and Ren are in a tough spot. If the Exorcist exorcised all the aura in Crocea Mors, Jaune would almost certainly die for good, except for a last little bit to send to his mother.

Ultimately Ren- who had the most interaction with the Exorcist OC in the first place- is able to negotiate a compromise deal. In exchange for his (and only his) cooperation, the Exorcists both return Crocea Mors and give them access to the libraries of ghost lore. To everyone's surprise, the Exorcist OC agrees to it, and even follows through with his word in a way that could be used against him. Crocea Mors is handed over- rather than kept as insurance- and Jaune is safe for the moment. Ren could go back on his word, but doesn't. From then on, Ren spends a bit of time with the Exorcists each week during the Witching Hour, helping them find bad ghosts.

Ren and Nora's relationship is challenged by Ren accepting the Exorcists's offer, even though it's for Jaune's sake. Despite that, Nora trusts Ren and Ren is still using the Exorcists rather than betraying her and Jaune's trust. It's a tension, but for now relief is the main emotion.

With Crocea Mors returned, it and Jaune come to terms. Jaune will use Crocea Mors, and try to ensure they both survive, while Crocea Mors will only use it's aura-vampirism on bad ghosts who can't be saved. Crocea Mors proves it has the soul of an Arc by making it a matter of Arc Words and a promise to Jaune, and from then on the two work together. Crocea Mors is a limited source of ghost lore, mainly it's own, but knows a lot of Arc history and has seen countless battles. Crocea Mors also starts talking to Ruby, and takes a curious interest in her health and recent good cheer.

Season 1.5 'ends' with Ren coerced/recruited by the Exorcists, Jaune at peace with Crocea Mors, and the Team resolving to investigate the White Fang in full to get to the bottom of things and remove the reason for the Exorcists to need Ren.

/

Season Two begins in full with the focus on the White Fang investigation. There's character arcs as well, but those are covered more in the character sections.

The White Fang investigation occurs with a lot of the usual shenanigans. Sun and Neptune are involved. It's the lead-up to the Dance, and so some romantic angles are occurring- Yang gets a white dress but no one to dance with, Weiss is after Neptune, Sun and Blake have some physical tension. Nora and Ren are almost honey-mooning their recent get-together, with Pyrrha helping plan the dance plans.

For the investigation itself- not too firmly planned, except that Roman is involved with a Paladin fight and that the White Fang ghosts become a focus with a Faunus Ghost OC. The Faunus Ghost- one of the first of the increasing number of ghosts that Ruby, Ren, and Jaune notice around Vale- is one of the ghosts the White Fang has brought to Vale in preparation for whatever they're intending. The Faunus Ghost escaped, and has been causing mischief-trouble around Vale sense. The Faunus Ghost is not hostile, and broadly sympathetic, and becomes the demonstration-case of the White Fang's plans when the White Fang do something to turn the sweet child into a Wraith. Team JNPR is able to save the Faunus Ghost without having to kill it via Crocea Mors, and this proves that the White Fang aren't just taking already angry ghosts and using them but twisting innocent faunus spirits into bad ghosts.

Roman's angle is still as proxy for Cinder. Roman's angle specifies that this is all part of a heist for him- that he's a thief, and he's working to pull off his best one yet. Roman's abilities are up in the air, but Neo has definite indications of ghost powers of some sort. The highlight of the battle, though, is that Jaune succeeds in possessing the Paladin Roman pilots, taking control of the systems. It's Jaune's biggest bestest robot body yet… before getting brutally demolished after the fact by a late-for-the-party Penny.

Penny, who was found by Ruby during Ruby and Jaune's part of the investigation, has her own sub-plot going on when Ruby and Penny find her. Penny is afraid of ghosts, but seems uniquely suited to face them. Besides her aura protecting her, Penny's wires and weapons are actually able to catch and affect ghosts. It's like Penny has a spirit weapon, but her blades are no different than the rest of her. That freaks Penny out, but no more than hearing Jaune is floating right above her. Penny is terrified of ghosts, as much about being a super-secret robot.

Penny, Ruby, and Jaune have a sequence of events where Ruby tries to reassure that Jaune isn't out to possesses her, which Penny finally believes when Jaune helps hide the revealed secret that Penny is a robot. There'd be a bit more, but Penny ends up joining the Investigation for now (or, rather, is too afraid to go home alone after hearing about the ghosts roaming about). Penny accompanies Ruby and Jaune, and ends up getting involved in the Roman fight. Penny 'helpfully' annihalates the Paladin shortly after Jaune assumed full control of his biggest, baddest body yet.

For her part in helping out, becoming friends, and in killing Jaune('s Paladin body), Penny becomes an Honorary Sister Who Murdered Jaune.

Superb!

(If only she still weren't afraid of everything being part of the Coven entails.)

Penny becomes a re-occuring character, more-so than in canon, and is allowed by Ironwood to help Team RWBY and JNPR with the Witching Hour patrols at night. Penny's weapons can also hurt ghosts, even though she's just a machine with aura that normally, neither of which should normally allow it. Penny doesn't understand either, but it's accepted as good fortune for now.

The Roman encounter ends with Neo helping him escape- and the realization through Jaune and the Seers that Neo is haunted. Multiple ghosts are holding onto Neo's body, as if all directing her, before Neo escapes with Roman.

The White Fang investigation Arc ends with the team knowing Roman is hunting some specific item in particular, that the White Fang are torturing innocent ghosts to turn them into Wraiths, and getting close to Penny. It then leads to the Dance arc.

The Dance Arc is covered more later, but it's the romantic tension arc. JNPR's only romantic tension is Renora, who Pyrrha and Jaune support as if they were newly weds. On the RWBY side, it's different. Weiss pines after Neptune, but there's no physical Jaune to talk him into asking her out. Blake is open-ish to Sun's interest, but there's tension from other things. Yang is the oddest- dressed up but no where to go and no one to go with. Yang sits out the ball in a white dress, sighing but not able to really put a finger on why.

Ruby's chaste as always, but cheery and almost glowing in how much she's smiling for everyone. She also develops a craving for oatmeal cookies, which is weird, and stays off her feet all dance claiming they're sore and staying with Yang. Jaune doesn't bother her or Yang all night, though she overhears him as part of the Weiss subplot.

The dance arc ends, with character plots described later, and moves onto the Breach arc. Because of Jaune's circumstances, both teams go on the same mission. Questions of 'what do you want from your life' are raised, questioning the recent character threads and desires, blah blah blah.

Given the nature of the Coven, and the quest to help Jaune survive, the question on the future is really focused on what they expect with Jaune in a few years. Are they trying to help him move on? To survive until graduation? Or to live on after that? Different characters have different desires, with Team JNPR mostly wanting to help Jaune move on and find a peaceful perma-death after graduation, while most of RWBY has been focused on trying to get Jaune a new body of some sort to live again.

Only Ruby seems content with the way things are right now, not thinking of the future too much besides Jaune being a ghost partner, but her middle-road approaching of not trying to help Jaune live but also not wanting him to die for good makes her worry if she's being selfish. Ruby wanders off, worried about the future and Jaune's, and Jaune follows to reassure her that he has no plans to leave her. He doesn't know what will come after graduation either- whether he'll move on once his dream of becoming a Hunter is fullfilled, or if he'd have a body- but Jaune repeats his promise from Initiation that he won't leave unless she wants him to.

It reassures Ruby, who smiles, and both are about to head back when they both hear a familiar ghostly beckoning that Ruby's heard before- at Initiation leading her to Jaune, at Forever Falls leading her to Jaune, and back at Beacon leading her to Jaune. But Jaune is already with her, and can hear it to, and it's proven that none of those incidents were him after all. Ruby and Jaune follow the voice, with Jaune leading out ahead, and once Jaune gets far enough he's able to catch sight of the wisp of a ghostly figure who disappears the moment Jaune looks away as Ruby catches up. They don't find the ghost, but the chase brings them to the train of the Breach, and the White Fang and Roman.

Ruby and Jaune find the train, Jaune goes back to get help from the rest of the team, and everyone is involved in the breach.

Because both teams are involved, with ghost powers as well, the Team actually manages to stop the train once Jaune is able to reach the breaks. Reaching the breaks is a problem, though- as both Neo and Roman have ghostly abilities.

Neo's many ghosts return, and they provide a real obstacle to Jaune. Neo's ghosts take turns possessing her- changing her eye color each time- but between possessions Neo is soul-less, like a Berserk Yang. When Yang is made berserk, one of Neo's ghosts possess _her_ \- and with a voice that actually works, 'Neo' states her intention to keep the new body. Jaune and ghost-Yang have to work with their living friends to overpower both Neo and a possessed Berserk Yang. Yang's body is reclaimed when Jaune and Crocea Mors threaten to cut Neo's ghosts away from Yang. Ren then takes Crocea Mors to fight Neo's ghosts, and Jaune slips past to try and stop the train at the engine.

Jaune's attempt to float past Roman, however, are stopped when Roman catches Jaune with the crook of his cane and pulls him back.

Roman, despite not having ghost senses, is able to hit and knock Jaune around with his cane. Roman's cane is a spirit-weapon itself- like Crocea Mors- and is able to help Roman fight the invisible Jaune and camp the train break. Roman can't catch Jaune, but can stop him from pulling the break. Things are better when Blake and Ruby emerge, but Roman's able to keep the both of them away from the controls when fighting seriously.

The group succeeds when Jaune goes into the train's engine room, where fire dust is providing the energy. Jaune coats himself in the dust-ash and coals, Ruby opens the boiler, and flaming ghost Jaune (and- soon- the ghost of Yang back from the Neo fight after it turned around) are able to force Roman away from the controls. Team RWBY shuts off the train, stopping the Breach before it can occur. It's a crashing stop, but safe, and the Breach is avoided, sparing the people of Vale- and the ghosts wandering amongst them- from a Grimm attack that would have cause so many more ghosts.

Roman and Neo escape in the chaos of the crash and Grimm in the tunnels, but Team RWBY and JNPR are to be commended. In fact, they are, even Jaune, who is photographed at an awards ceremony floating his medal in the air. The photo hits the media, goes viral, and gets Ren and Ruby and Jaune invited to Ozpin's office to discuss a matter of life and death.

Ren, Ruby, and Jaune show up, see Ozpin and Ironwood awaiting them, but are puzzled to see Penny there too. Ironwood starts the session, ends the season with question for Jaune.

How would you like a new body to live again?

(And- far away- Mrs. Arc is doing dishes when she's called by a daughter. Her darling baby Jaune is on TV- kinda. With a swish of a black dress, Mrs. Arc goes to investigate.)

/

The Exorcist/White Fang plot largely overshadows the Cinder plot, but Cinder still exists as the manipulator behind the scene. Cinder is behind the White Fang's new use of ghosts, as part of her own ploy for personal power. Rather than the Maiden- who didn't exist at this point- Cinder is someone who can consume ghosts, and so her gambits is to trick the White Fang and Exorcists into giving her more ghosts to consume.

During all this, Ozpin and Ironwood are trying to manage the situation in a more ghost-positive way. Ozpin seems to be angling things so that Jaune- still a public secret- becomes the way to usher back in a society that recognizes and keeps ghosts and spirits, rather than let the exorcists banish or destroy them. Ironwood is more concerned about public safety, but is onboard with that. Penny is actually the masterpiece/endgame of it all.

Meanwhile, there are some open questions.

How can Jaune survive over the long term?

What's up with Neo being possessed by multiple spirits, when spirits can't possess living bodies?

Why can Penny affect ghosts without a weapon spirit in her weapons?

Who is the unknown ghost at Beacon who led Ruby back to Jaune?

Why is Ruby showing symptoms of pregnancy?

Season two's events are mostly analogous to canon- a White Fang investigation arc, the dance, and the Breach- but Season 3 was just a hypothetical at that point and had no further planning. Aside from the tournament, it was intended to cover two main things- to serve as Ozpin's proof to the wider world of the existence (and potential) of ghosts, and bring-in Jaune's family into the story once they realize his (un)death. How that would have gone…

Well, Ozpin fears Jaune's mother for not-just-comedic reasons, Exorcists would go 'oh shit' if they realized they'd been trying to exercise her son, and there'd no doubt be much embarrassment on the part of the Teams upon meeting her.

But the best part? Even before Season 3 released, Ghost-Jaune's Mom had a name planned. I swear I'm not making this up on the fly.

Mrs. Arc?

Mrs. _Salem_ Arc.

/

/

Author Notes:

But damn would that have been a good way to end the season.

Season 3 tomorrow.


	10. Season 3 and the Three Mothers

/

Season Three

Season 3 had very little thought before the story died way back when. It was vaguely intended as a tournament arc, since that was foreshadowed by canon Season 2, but little else was intended except for Jaune's witch-mother coming back, and the finale. These following was a lot less organized, focusing more on a lot of parallel character plots than a sequential core plot, so forgive the rambling and lack of clear linearity.

The meeting between Ironwood, Ozpin, and Ren/Ruby/Jaune focuses on an offer Ironwood has for Jaune- to give him a Penny-like body to call his own and 'live' again. Penny, it's revealed, is actually a lot like Jaune- before she was a robot, she was a ghost, and given the robotic shell to generate her own aura. With a body like Penny's, Jaune could 'live' again, through Beacon and beyond. Survival wouldn't be an issue.

Ozpin and Ironwood's offer comes with almost no strings attached- just that Jaune continue being a Good Ghost, and that he participate in the tournament. Since fighting would require a lot of aura-energy, Jaune and friends had been intending for him to sit out, but with the promise of a body to generate aura again there's no reason to hold back.

Giving Jaune the body is the goal in and of itself, meeting both Ironwood and Ozpin's interests. Ozpin rewards good work... and gets Jaune's mother to not kill him by already getting Jaune a new body to make up for the one that went splat. Ironwood gets to publicly demonstrate the feasibility of the technology on someone the world will recognize as a real ghost. Both of them get to reward Jaune for being a good ghost, despite the circumstances of his death and after-life, while Jaune paints ghosts in general in a better light than they'd been in before.

All the above wouldn't necessarily be the first scenes of the season, but would filter in over time. Ruby, Ren, and Jaune work under an understanding that Jaune's crisis of life is almost over, which is important to the friends.

The real early part of the tournament focuses on Jaune being publicized to the world and his family, and developments within the coven when Ruby starts showing signs of (ghost) pregnancy.

Jaune's (non)appearance at the no-Breach award ceremony is the first major-media event in which Beacon 'proves' the existence of ghosts, and only draws more attention to his (non)appearance in the upcoming tournament. Up to then students at Beacon had known, but almost no one outside the school knew or would have believed it. Most people dismissed it as rumors. Most people believe ghosts are just semblances. Jaune's existence in the tournament opens a lot of controversy, but it brings out the exorcists from hiding, who have been in a subtle war for influence and ideas with Ozpin over how to handle the ghost issue of Vale. The Exorcists have good standing in society, but Jaune seems to disprove most of their warnings of the inherent danger of ghosts. Jaune being a hero is a public relations shot across the bow for Ozpin.

The news of Jaune's death also brings in his mother, Salem, who is Very Unhappy her baby boy is dead, but Very Happy that he's gotten spirit-married in the mean-time. Salem is… sure, let's say that she was the Evil Witch of Canon. I came up with the name because Salem = Witches and ghosts, but why ditch a perfectly good set-up? Salem was the uber-evil antagonist Witch of canon, but then got met Jaune's father Nicholas (shout out to Coeur, who you should know), who converted her to the… not good side, but at least chaotic neutral, by virtue of lots of Arc lovin' and a good deal of confidence.

(This is a half natural direction, and half a nod to the Juniper Salem Arc jokes of Couer's Professor Arc forum. Good stuff.)

Salm is powerful. Salem is scary. Salem also has all the ghost-sensing senses- sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and even feeling. And bone white skin and black and red eyes and a creepy black dress. Don't ask.

Salem loves her family, doesn't like much else, and hates Ozpin. She hates him more for Jaune's death, but Ozpin's ready-go answer of supplying a replacement body mitigates some of the anger, and leaves Salem to more important things... like trying to find out who killed Jaune in the first place.

When Salem is effortlessly able to make Crocea Mors sing like a canary with some comedic threats, Pyrrha's imminent demise is only halted by Jaune declaring that he and Pyrrha are engaged. It's news to Pyrrha- who's a step behind the conversation since she requires translation- but she quickly goes along with it becomes clear that alleged necrophelia is better than dying a virgin. Salem accepts the boldface lie because she can totally believe a girl like Pyrrha would fall for her son at first sight, and welcomes her a daughter-in-law... along with the rest of Jaune's spirit brides.

Salem dotes on Jaune and knows quite a bit of ghost lore including spirit marriage- which, if it wasn't clear already, applies to everyone in the coven and not just Yang. While Crocea Mors officiated a ghost-marriage between Yang and Jaune, which made it 'official,' and the two even start going out after the Breach when Yang takes their ghost-dating fooling openly, all spirit marriage really requires is a special sort of bond. Unlocking the aura of a ghost is one- and explains how Ruby became the first- but every other spirit marriage bond after that requires some sort of catalyst. The group is collectively clueless, and Blake is silent, and Salem just supposes that they all couldn't get enough of her son and so who knows? Power of friendship? Spirit marriage is not necessarily romantic- it can be platonic- but it's an old tradition and Salem likes calling them all Jaune's spirit brides because it makes him sound so manly.

Salem serves as an exposition device for ghost marriage, weapon spirits, and a lot of the ghost lore that the group wouldn't otherwise know or hadn't put together quite right. Salem puts it together, clearing up what had been implied in Seasons 1 and 2, and makes sense of a lot of things.

Salem is also the one to identify that Ruby has a phantom pregnancy.

Ruby's ghost pregnancy is something that bridges from mid-season 2 to the end of Season 3, while throwing a wrench in the coven shaking up the status quo with the recognition that not only does Jaune have more than the one spirit marriage with Yang, but that the spirit marriages have more consequences than previously assumed. Despite Ruby and Jaune have never shared a dirty dream, Ruby is the first of the spirit-wives to 'conceive,' showing as early as the Dance Arc in season 2, when she had craving and sore feat. Spirit marriage conception only requires emotional intimacy, not dream sex, and the conception of intimate trust occurred way back during the Cardin arc. Phantom pregnancy is different from regular pregnancy, with no physical offspring, and takes less time to boot. After initially intending to take Jaune home, Salem stays for the duration of the tournament arc as Ruby nears her term. Ruby 'delivers' during the end-season crisis, with Salem playing mid-wife.

'Pregnant' Ruby is played for comedy- starting with her in an unusually good mood post-season 2, having unusual cravings (such as for, egh, oatmeal raisin cookies), and having a lot of the symptoms of pregnancy without the baby or physical aspects. It also becomes a way for Ruby to beg favors from Jaune to do things for her rather than do them herself. She's still fully capable, just increasingly taxed on her aura reserves, but otherwise has been showing no physical signs. Though Ren starts to see some hints of aura glow from within her, the group doesn't understand what's going until Salem explains it.

Ruby is going to give birth to a weapon spirit- a ghost who never had the chance to be alive, because one of their parents was dead. Because they never lived to generate residual aura needed to survive as a ghost, they can only survive on the residual aura of a parent's weapon, hence the name. Weapon spirits are a natural outcome of spirit marriage, and are responsible for some of the truly remarkable weapons- like Crocea Mors, or Roman's cane- which can directly affect ghosts. Weapon spirits are really more of giving life to a weapon one already has, and allow the weapons they inhabit to damage ghosts.

Ruby's 'pregnancy' causes drama, misunderstandings, and threatens to throw the coven into jealousy and infringed feelings amongst the spirit wives until the chaste nature of the relationship is affirmed. Spirit marriage doesn't require sex, just emotional intimacy… such as amongst really good friends. For Ruby and Jaune, it was either right before or right after the Cardin incident. When Salem does some more checks, half of the friends- the Team RWBY half- are starting to to show spirit-weapons as well. Only one person from Team JNPR, who Jaune's had no dream-sex with, is pregnant.

Ren.

Jaune and Ren are both taken aback, and open to jokes, but it more or less proves the point. Ren is Jaune's closest emotional connection on Team JNPR, but still utterly platonic. Phantom pregnancy, even the male sort, is Magic and Closeness, not biology.

With Ruby's virtue maintained, and weapon spirits not being like 'normal' children but more like awakening the weapons they already have, the Coven stabilizes… especially when the rest of Team RWBY soon too comes down with diagnosis of spirit weapon, though theirs were conceived in the more conventional way in the Jaune dreams. Ruby is able to fight for the rest of the tournament despite some aura loss, and only really is incapacitated during the 'delivery.' Ultimately Ruby's 'pregnancy' forces the quasi-polyamorous nature of Jaune's spirit-marriage Coven to be raised, while resolving it in a way where the participants accept it as a real but not really real relationship. Jaune is all their friend, and friendship is hardly exclusive, right? Right. Everyone agrees.

That's Season 3 setup, before the Season 3 of canon quite starts. It's also as far as I 'firmly' planned.

Knowing what I know now from Season 3 and the Season 4 set-up…

Season 3 would be a tournament arc, but with Cinder's goal being mass-casualties rather than the Fall Maiden. Cinder needs ghosts, but can't see or collect them herself, and so she uses the White Fang and their ghosts to manipulate the Exorcists into doing her work for her. The White Fang cause enough ghost trouble to force the Exorcists to bring out the big guns, including a relic that is Cinder's actual target for Roman to steal.

While the main plot is going on, though, the key emotional plot of the story is Jaune's discovery of the newest ghost who's been haunting Beacon, and has been haunting Ruby at various points in the story.

Summer Rose.

Summer Rose is still dead, and still around, but just barely. Unwittingly banished by Ruby in childhood, Summer has survived at the edge of non-existence for over a decade. Summer's last source of residual aura resides in the cape Ruby wears- but because Ruby banished her to 'go away' and 'leave her alone,' she can't get close. Summer is like a woman surviving of sips of water in a desert, and had devolved into a single-minded wisp of a ghost.

Until Jaune died, and started picking up residual aura and carrying it away from Ruby to where Summer could pick it up and start to reform in earnest.

Summer's been appearing more in brief bits as the story progressed, but come Season 3 she's back for real, barely. As a wisp she's badly confused and single-mindedly focused on Ruby/Yang but also staying out of Ruby's way, but as she gains more aura her form and mind return. When Summer's recovered enough to be coherent, Jaune tries to get her to make herself known, but Summer's afraid/can't because of the banishment. So instead Jaune brings in Ghost Yang- who thinks it's a nookie session until she's reunited with her dead spirit-momma- and Yang is able to work through Ruby.

The return of Summer, and the reuniting of her with her family, is a very significant part of the story... that will be covered more in the character sections later. But, suffice to say, it means a lot to everyone involved, and marks a turning point in Jaune's relationships with both Yang and Ruby... who, by the time Summer is revealed, is near-due for her spiritual pregnancy.

All this occurs before the finals, and the capstone of Cinder's plot. The White Fang have been releasing ghosts and causing trouble all the while, but the finals marks the chance for a 'blitz' of angry spirits and corrupted wraiths. Fortunately, or not, the Exorcists- who Ren has been less and less reluctant to help all this time- have a trump card.

The crux of the plot is an Exorcist macguffin artifact called The Lantern that serves as lure for ghosts, guiding them into a trap from which they can't escape. Rather than kill ghosts outright or banish them to be devoured by Grimm, the Exorcists devised these traps as a more humane solution, and have used them to capture countless ghosts over the centuries. To a ghost the Lantern looks like a path to Heaven/The Other Side, and tricks them by making them think they can move on. This is actually the same sort of device that was used by the exorcist who dealt with Nora's grandmother. The Lantern doesn't kill ghosts, but traps them in a sort of stasis prison. The power of the Lantern fills the ghosts with light, sustaining them and giving them new aura even when their long-lost bodies are gone.

Cinder wants this artifact because she can make use of the ghosts inside. Cinder turns out to be a Ghost Eater- one of the rarest sorts of Seers who can 'taste' ghosts. Ghost Eaters can not only taste ghosts, but consume them for power like a Grimm, and Cinder can use the Lantern to consume the countless ghosts trapped inside. Consuming ghosts grants power- more ghost senses, ghost powers, and more- and fits into her plan for total power.

When Cinder consumes the soul-lights of the Lantern, she gains all the ghosts senses and more ghost powers than Jaune and is ridiculously overpowered… but she gains other attributes too. Bone white skin, red eyes, black eyes... after devouring so many souls, Cinder becomes a Grimm. A sentient, human-shaped Grimm with great power and even greater appetites. In order to trap and devour all the souls of Vale, Cinder activates the Lantern in full to suck in and trap all the ghosts- including Jaune, Summer, and Ruby's recently born ghost-baby.

Jaune is just strong enough to resist the Lantern's lure, but Summer and the child are not. While Jaune's own mother, Salem, is able to protect the weapon spirit she and Summer just delivered, Summer falls towards the Lantern after the handing it over. Jaune strives to save her, in a 'not going to let go' sort of dilemma, but Jaune and Summer will both meet a Grimm Fate in Cinder's belly if Jaune doesn't let go. Jaune won't, and Cinder gloats that he's sure to die again. For good this time.

Then Pyrrha shatters the lantern with a well-placed spear.

The only one who can kill Jaune is her, and she's not about to let Cinder into the Coven either. One-liner aside, Pyrrha breaking the Lantern is a Big Deal, as both Cinder and the Exorcists around give a 'What Have You Done?' shock.

Breaking the Lantern causes releases the ghosts still inside- good and bad ghosts gathered over centuries- who fly across the sky like a meteor shower in all directions before falling across all of Remnant as shooting stars. Breaking just one lantern returns ghosts to all of Remnant, causing chaos across the world as ghosts return and are eager to resume un-living after centuries of stasis.

Cinder's plot succeeds- creating mass panic and chaos- but has Unforeseen Consequences for her. When the Lantern breaks, the outburst of power and light is too much for Cinder to bear. Cinder shape-shifts into a dragon as she's driven off, and a last final attempt to devour Ruby and the baby-spirit on her way out is prevented by Salem bitch-slapping her away. Cinder is knocked off course, but still manages to flee and poses an even greater threat in the future.

Cinder's transformation broaches new questions- the relationship between Ghosts and Grimm and Man- even as she becomes a threat to all the Kingdoms. In her final scene, Cinder-Grimm shape-shifts back into her a Salem-like form and is mastering new powers, like using Grimm as familiars and shape-shifting herself. Her powers are unstable, and Cinder hates what she's become, but intends to continue in the name of her vengeance… and consume the other Exorcist Lanterns in her quest for even more power.

The plot of the season mostly ends there, with a bit of fallout as people react to the new threat of Cinder and the changes to the world.

/

Stepping back a bit to see how the season finale would be set up by the various actors- with caveats that character arcs will be covered more and better later-

The Vytal Tournament, in which the Teams compete, is part of Ozpin and Ironwood's plan to re-introduce ghosts to the world in a positive way. Jaune is to be the epitome/exemplar of what good ghosts can be- defenders of the living- while Jaune's exposure to his family is the necessary cost Ozpin has to make. Ozpin's ideal outcome is a world which accepts ghosts as a normal part of the cycle of life, afterlife, and death. Jaune's presence in the tournament is a part of that normalization. The breaking of the Lantern throws the world into chaos, and while Ozpin is still around he has to try and manage the chaos lest it turn to fear of the newly released spirits.

Ironwood's goal is a bit more ambitious- a new form of immortality where people who die can become immortal ghosts. Penny is Ironwood's end-game- a ghost, given a new body, and thus new life. Atlas is offering a sort of immortality as people could conceivably live, die, and then live again in Penny-bot bodies, which can be 'possessed' and then generate new life-aura for the ghost. Penny doesn't remember being a ghost, having been a wisp at the time, but she's the first prototype of a sort of mechanical immortality.

Ironwood's plan is extremely controversial, and after Cinder's chaos his project is shut down with only a single new Penny-body made. Ironwood returns to Atlas where the return of ghosts is causing great strife to break out between those who see ghosts/Penny-project as the way to the future, and those who see the project as an abomination. Ironwood leaves the last Penny-type body to Jaune, as a promised reward for his cooperation in the tournament and to provide living aura once more.

Intended for Jaune, Jaune instead gives it to Summer Rose who used up nearly the last of her energy in the last battle and is close to perma-death. Summer adapts to the new body, and gets a tender reunion with her family, but soon after is kidnapped by Raven for unclear reasons, prompting Taiyang to lead the search for them both. Yang joins him, but Ruby joins the hunt for Cinder.

The White Fang plot focuses on their use of ghosts. The White Fang uses ghosts as weapons, but not all their angry spirits are naturally like that- some turn out to be normal ghosts forced into madness through the same sort of defilement and desecration that Cardin did to Jaune. There'd be at least one new faunus ghost OC- an 'innocent'- forced into villainy, and a realization that the faunus ghosts are victims to. After creating the crisis, the White Fang retreats to Menagerie.

During the season, Blake- whose relationship with Sun ends after being a bit too creepy-cute and goes back to living out her fantasies in Jaune Dreams- is sent notes by an unidentified person. The person, presumed to be a stalker, is actually Adam, who may as well be a stalker. Adam wants Blake back, convinced she'll come back now that he's found a way to win the war against the Schnees. Blake, in order to find the source of the White Fang ghosts and stop it, (fake) defects at Adam's 'invitation' in order to be taken to the White Fang base. Blake's defection would be cast as a betrayal, but one that her friends don't fall for.

The Weiss plot would be to slowly develop the supernatural aspect of Weiss's past, including the ties to spirits known as angles. In Season 3 her family semblance- to give (temporary) pure white angelic form to spirits- becomes significant as it not only gives Jaune a chance to be seen and interact in the contexts around the tournament, but offers a chance to protect/save 'the Innocent' faunus ghost from White Fang defilement. On top of her own personal relationship with Jaune, Season 3 sets up Weiss for a heavy role in Season 4. As everyone diverges, Weiss returns to Atlas to face the ghosts of her childhood.

Ruby and Yang are mostly tied to Jaune's plot. Ruby and Yang are two of the closest 'spirit marriages,' with Ruby chaste and Yang anything but. Yang's out-of-body experiences and non-dream ghost-sex with Jaune puts her closer than 'just' dirty dreams, and their (open, non-exclusive) relationship is more or less as real and official as a dead guy and living girl can be. While the two are officially 'dating' since shortly after the Breach, with lots of what they thought was consequence-free ghost fooling around, Yang's dreams have heavy themes of 'commitment' as she gets more and more serious about what started as something openly non-exclusive and initially played off as 'not real.' Ruby's not so romantically involved, but she wants Jaune to be around for awhile yet, especially with the conception of the spirit of Crescent Rose. Jaune wins major points when Summer is found, more when he saves her from the Lantern and Cinder in the final battle, and even more when he gives up his chance at a body and life for Summer's sake. Yang joins her father in the search for Summer and Raven, even as Ruby decides that Cinder is the real threat. Yang and Ruby separate amicably, trusting the tasks to each other, but both want Jaune to accompany them on theirs.

Team NPR also schisms at the end.

Ren and Nora, but especially Ren, are tied to the Exorcist plotline. After Jaune works to get the two together, the two have different views on the Exorcists. Nora hates them for killing ghosts, and for coercing Ren into joining them, but Ren thinks they have a point, that bad ghosts are a problem that needs to be managed. Nora is allergic to this sort of reasoning, and even saying the Exorcists have a point while still being wrong causes friction. Said friction is worsened when Ren is actively sought for recruitment by the Exorcists. Ren eventually joins- or pretends to join- the Exorcists in order to access their archives for ghost-lore that might help Jaune. Nora makes rescuing the faunus ghosts from defilement a priority. Over Season 2 and 3, Ren forms a rapport and mutually respectful understanding with the Exorcist OC as he understands the Exorcist perspective more and more. Ren and Nora are happy together, but tensions in the real world increasingly make the shared Jaune Dreams the happiest place for the three of them.

In the end the relationship breaks when Ren joins the Exorcists after the crisis, wanting to influence how they deal with all the newly released ghosts, but also to help them protect the remaining Lanterns from Cinder. Nora won't work with the exorcists,and joins the anti-Cinder effort directly. After realizing that the ghosts inside the lanterns are trapped, and that her grandmother may still be 'alive', Nora intends to break any exorcist lanterns she comes across. The breakup is hard for both Ren and Nora, even as both share the same desire to help ghosts and protect the Lanterns from Cinder. They still care as much as they hurt, and in the meantime Jaune is torn between two of his closest friends and supporters in what is the darkest part of the finale.

As for Pyrrha, who started it all...

Pyrrha ends the season alive, but publicly blamed for breaking the Lantern and returning ghosts to the world. She did it to save Jaune and Summer from the Lantern, before Cinder could complete her consumption and kill them, but Pyrrha's actions are viewed dimly by the livings. Pyrrha's actions won the battle, kind of, but it's a Pyrrhic Victory that throws the world into chaos as ghosts both good and bad streak across the sky and come down everywhere. At the same time, or rather during the tourney as part of Cinder's conniving to distract the Coven, Pyrrha's name was also blackened for her role in the Sisterhood. Dark whispers and gossip magazines speak of the witch of a coven, the cannibal cereal mascot, the eternal virgin in love with the dead, and, of course, Jaune's murderer. So to clear her name- or cover up the deed- or make recompenses- or to meet some condition that would see Jaune have a new chance at the life he lost- Pyrrha sets out to track the dragon and end Cinder. Alone, if need be.

(She won't be. Ruby, Nora, and Penny join the Hunt for Cinder, while helping resolve ghost issues along the way.)

And so Teams RWBY and JNPR are broken up once more. Less fatally, but just as surely as in canon, as the coven- the Sisterhood that Murdered Jaune- splits up to address their myriad of issues.

And as for Jaune? Where does he go?

After a season in which Jaune's mother- the one and only Salem- tried to take him away so that she could prepare a new body for him, Jaune still refuses to go home even though his friends have scattered. Even the prospect of a new body- hints of a homonculus shell- isn't enough. Salem eventually relents, and asks Jaune the question that had plagued the romantic tension to date. With whom will he go? Who will he choose?

Who will Jaune stay beside as spirit-spouse?

Jaune looks at his departing friends, his coven, each of them clasping their relic made of his bones, and says…

All of them.

/

End planning for Season 3.

/

/

Author Notes:

And that's as far as organized plot planning went.

For such a gruesome story, Season 3 wasn't going to be as bad as canon ended up being. It was going to involve a tournament, the pregnancy, and the schism after crisis. In one sense it is a defeat- the group is shattered, and Ren and Nora divided- but on the other it's also them focusing on a lot of problems.

Some more notes about a hypothetical season 4 will come with the character sketches, but next we'll get into the ghost mechanics I had in mind for the story. A more meta look at the powers, mechanics, and limitations of the supernatural ghost elements.

Share your thoughts, and what you liked if you liked anything.


	11. Necrobiology

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The Meta(Physics) of the Ghost

Magic doesn't have to have rules, but I'm of the view that settings like the RWBY-verse work better when symbolism is tied to some sort of rational. Things don't have to be scientific, but they should make sense, and so Jaune being a ghost had an awful lot of planning put into it straight from the get go.

To start off with, ghosts like Jaune are basically composed of aura-echoes- the residue of living aura that sticks around and marks something after a person passes. In the same way that Crescent Rose is 'Ruby's' weapon and no one else's even if she puts it down, Jaune's ghost is still his soul for the residual aura imbibing it. Jaune had the aura reserves, and a family sword packed with generations of it, to stick around awhile. That same aura can be used for the ghostly techniques, such as lifting his sword and what not.

But, as the Initiation ending foreshadowed, undeath is a temporary condition- residual aura sustains the ghost, but is a limited resource. Since they aren't alive, it can't be generated. As aura is expended, ghosts have to regain energy from residual aura generated when they were still alive. When ghosts use up all their energy they begin to lose their memory and sense of self, deteriorating until they fade away for good. If the aura loss is sudden, such as for someone who loses/doesn't have residual aura, it's a far more painful experience. Jaune's 'life' as a ghost, even when prolonged by Crocea Mors family aura reserves, would have been measured in years not decades if he just used his own residual aura. Jaune and friends discovering that his life force is finite, and being expended rapidly, would have been a significant plot point.

But- and here would be the upside- while ghosts can't generate aura they can conserve it, and even take the aura of others. The best way to conserve energy is to only tamper with things that are 'theirs' and already imbibed with their residual aura. Using Crocea Mors costs Jaune almost nothing in residual aura, but trying to lift anyone else's weapon would take much more. Practice would make him more effective at it- like how spending energy to work out can make it easier to lift heavy things- but Jaune's main technique is to possess and inhabit a small number of things that are increasingly 'his.' The more he does, the easier it is in the future. This applies to his possessions… and his friends.

Using the aura of others was a more abstract thing, something 'new' that no one even in-story really understood, and so something that the Teams would discover and develop. Think of it as 'leaching', or 'borrowing,' or even 'siphoning' at its worst. It's not that Jaune could store up and increase his aura reserves, but rather that he could use a bit of someone else's aura without expending his own. If Jaune had a Jaune Dream with Ren, for example, then the next day 5% of Ren's aura is available to Jaune. The closer the relationship and more time in the dream, the more aura loaned.

Initially tied to willing sacrifice- the friends take turns letting Jaune use their bodies and aura- by the end game Jaune would be able to leach aura from the very enemies he was fighting, such as ghosts he fights with Crocea Mors. Not much- not as much as he would use when fighting- but enough to mitigate his gradually dwindling reserves.

Jaune's development of his powers was going to be one of the key progressions of the story, and provide the basis of story arcs. Jaune's steady loss of aura was going to be a reoccurring tension point.

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A List of Ghost Powers That Be (Or Could Have Been)

Jaune's powers as a ghost were his means of interaction and the basis of various plot arcs. These include-

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Possession (Inanimate Object)

Jaune's simplest, earliest power, and the one he used to 'puppet' his own corpse and Crocea Mors. Jaune can expend ghost-aura to possess an item and move it at will. Bigger items are 'heavier' and cost more aura- but every time he possesses something, some of his residual aura is left behind and the object becomes 'lighter.' Crocea Mors, with generations of Arc aura, is effectively weightless to him- but a new pencil would feel like a gallon of water.

Jaune can not possess 'owned' objects, which are objects so frequently used by a person that they carry someone else's residual aura. Personal weapons and clothes are the primary examples, though Ruby's cloak is a prominent exception both because Ruby is willing and because it's Summer's aura in the cloak, not Ruby's. The so-what is that Jaune can't lift weapons out of an aura-users hands. However, Jaune can possess the aura of the willing- and so can lift the weapons of his friends once they trust/accept him enough. So, as examples, Jaune could lift mass produced blades from thugs who didn't have aura, but wouldn't be able to steal Cardin's weapon, but would be able to catch Nora's war-hammer mid-air and return it to her as an assist.

Over the story, Jaune would get a collection of items that, by virtue of frequently possessing them, become 'his' and no one elses. These objects would become lighter as Jaune grows stronger.

One of Jaune's items, for communication, is an oija board for regular séances whenever Ruby (or Ren) aren't around.

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Marionette (Puppeting)

An extension of possession, except that instead of going 'inside' and object Jaune controls it from the outside. This was 'seen' by Ren when Jaune puppetted his own body from the outside. Marionette allows Jaune to control a body that isn't his and interact with the world more directly.

Ghosts can not possess the unwilling, as the auras of the living interfere with possession. Jaune could not possess anyone, even a lowly goon, against their will. Ghosts can possess and manipulate those who can't refuse- including the unconscious. So while Jaune can't possess a waking goon, he could posses one a friend knocked out and use it to fight. This can cause complications, or comedy, when the body Jaune is possessing wakes up mid-fight.

Jaune's marionette skill could be used on objects, people, or- since Grimm don't have auras- eventually even Grimm. The people Jaune would marionette would be his own friends- 'borrowing' their bodies when they're asleep, or giving them a chance to keep on fighting after getting knocked out of a fight. The friends allow Jaune to borrow their bodies at night as a way to preserve aura and let him live a little, while the revival strategy becomes Jaune's assistance to fights he's outmatched in.

Jaune's most common marionette would have been his pseudo-body for class attendance purposes- a stuffed animal doll. Jaune's toy doll body, the same as in Coeur's From Beyond story, is constantly being abused and constantly being repaired. Eventually the doll has a voice speaker, which Jaune can possess for limited speaking, but he tends to burn it out.

Jaune can also marionette bodies in big fights, but at a high aura cost- though robots are easy for him to move. By the end of Season 3, Jaune could- at heavy cost- marionette a Grimm to turn it against allies.

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Possession (Living)

One of the rules of the story is that 'the only body a spirit can possess is its own.' Initially introduced as an iron-clad rule about why people shouldn't fear ghosts taking over, it gets twisted as Jaune realizes how delightfully ambiguous that rule is.

(Shout-out to Last Days of Unit Foxhound, for Metal Gear fans.)

The idea of 'possession', both the action and the idea of ownership- would get bandied around a lot, but what it ultimately comes down to is that as Jaune's friends accept him and his residual aura, his aura intermingles with theirs without resistance to the point that he is their ghost and they're his friends and so intermingled that he can 'slip in' as long as they don't try to do anything themselves.

In practical effects- Jaune can possess/inhabit the bodies of his friends when they're asleep or passed out. This lets Jaune have a body and 'live' a nightlife of sorts, and give his friends a second chance during fights when they get knocked out. When they're awake, Jaune can only guide their movements if they let him- otherwise, he's as easy to shake off as a spider web. (Which would have been the metaphor used for possession attempts.)

The one exception to this rule of consensual possession is Berserker Yang, who has no mind or will of her own to resist possession. Jaune can possess Berserk Yang like a bike… and displace the sane Yang at the same time, giving her an out-of-body experience. Yang gets to be a ghost herself until there is mutual agreement to trade control.

Key word- mutual. As in, Yang has to agree to it too.

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Dream Haunting (Sleeping)

One of the rules the Teams discover is that while Jaune can't possess the unwilling, he can posses the asleep. What the Teams never discover the reason for is why Jaune can fall into their dreams.

If Jaune marionettes his friends, it usually works the same as if he possessed an inanimate object until they wake up. If Jaune tries to possess his friends from the inside, however… he can get pulled into their dreamscapes, where Jaune is a part of whatever their imagination is cooking up. Some dreams are sweet and innocent, like Ruby's. Some are reasonable and even lucid, like Ren and Nora and Pyrrha who realize he's in their dream and take the chance to talk. And the rest, like the first times Jaune falls into the dreams of Weiss and Blake…

Well, Team RWBY is filled with healthy, growing girls.

Why does this happen? No one really knows. They guess that it has to do with the friendship between them all, or that the Sisterhood (Who Murdered Jaune) counts as some sort of coven- but the real reason is something else.

It's related to cannibalism. And Polygamy. And has absolutely nothing to do with Blake, at all, no siree.

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Ghost in the Shell (Electronics)

Jaune's ghost form allows him to possess things- but what about electronics?

While aura is tied to dust, and thus dust to ghosts, energy and electricity are a bit further away. When ghost-aura and dust interact, they tend to stick together in some way. Where ghost-aura and electricity overlaps, they can't both be- and so you get short circuits and flickering lights and other such haunted house paranormal normalities.

Early on Jaune has a tendency to short out the computer processors, breaking microphones he tries to speak through. With practice (and many of Weiss's appliances) Jaune eventually is able to possess computers. The key for Jaune is to have a light touch, and not put too much energy into the attempt- useful training for him to not over-exert himself and waste his life-force. Initially done so he can play video games at night while everyone else sleeps, Jaune eventually reaches the ability to possess robots and droids.

Possession of robots is the hook that causes dramatic tension with Penny, who has a (mostly) comedic fear of ghosts. Aside from fearing what she can't see or hear, Penny's real fear is that Jaune would short out her circuits, thus killing her. Ultimately this would not be, since Penny has a soul and her aura protects her. A ghost can not possess the unwilling… and as a gentleman, Jaune wouldn't even try. Jaune and Penny become friends when Jaune is able to successfully posses a small droid body and speak to her.

Getting a robot body to call his own is eventually one of the mid-game strategies of the friends to get Jaune a 'body' that he can call his own, as possessing 'his own' body would save Jaune life-energy and extend his life span. A reoccurring joke would be that every robot body Jaune tries to claim for his own meets an untimely end, from droids to Roman's Paladin.

A separate gimmick about electricity and electronics is that Jaune can get 'stuck' in an electronic circuit if he's too low on ghost-energy before leaving. Until Jaune regains his energy, he's effectively trapped in the circuit like he can be in Crocea Mors, though Ren can see the object glow and Ruby can still hear him. One of the reoccurring jokes is of Jaune getting drawn in and stuck in vacuum cleaners.

On the other hand, it makes a very significant turn to the M for Mature when Jaune gets stuck in one of Blake's night toys before she uses it.

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Dust attraction

Less an ability and more of a nature of his ghostliness. Where electricity and ghosts (usually) don't mix, dust and ghosts stick together. When dust is sprinkled on Jaune it stays, creating a dust-covered figure of his outline.

Or, basically, a visible ghost.

Initially tested as a way to 'prove' Jaune isn't skipping class, there are a couple drawbacks to this form. Dust is expensive, the dust sticks to whatever he touches if he tries to go through people or walls, and he has a tendency to explode when people sneeze.

I'm sorry, did I say 'drawback'? Try 'totally awesome.' Firedust Jaune, a flaming ball of fire, is a veritable willow-wisp when he's not a screaming man on fire. Ice dust Jaunce can freeze people just by walking through them. Gravity-dust Jaune is _spooky_ , and can make things levitate with ease. Lightning dust Jaune is simply shocking. Like kissing a battery. Etc. Etc.

Grimm ash, the dissolving bits of Grimm, also act like dust, sticking to ghosts. Unlike 'regular' dust, which doesn't affect a ghost's personality, Grimm ash irritates a ghost and can drive them insane.

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Energy Drain/Vampirism

A late ability of Jaune's via Crocea Mors that gives him the ability to drain aura for himself.

Crocea Mors- the Yellow Death- starts to shine whenever it fights ghosts. The more ghosts the spirit-weapon hits, the brighter the shine. Crocea Mors- the weapon and the spirit within- can drain the aura of ghosts. That ability doesn't work on the living unless it's a sustained stab or killing. When Jaune stabs someone and pierces flesh, the sword can drink aura from the spilled blood that way as well.

The ability- basically spiritual vampirism- is a potent but dark ability that Jaune is very uncomfortable with. The pragmatic Crocea Mors is accustomed to it- taking the life-force of others to sustain themselves is how old ghosts survive- but the temptation for abuse (and the fact that Jaune used it as a Revenant on his friends during the Cardin incident) frightens him, and he refuses to use it.

Eventually, Jaune and Crocea Mors reach a compromise- only on mad ghosts and willing people. Mad ghosts can't be redeemed, while (eventually) some of the friends will willingly offer blood-sacrifice to give Jaune power for specific feats.

Yes, eventually we were going to get vampire and self-harm jokes as well. Truly this fic had no boundaries.

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Spirit Marriage

Not a thing Jaune does on his own, but rather something Jaune does with his friends.

Spirit marriage is an old pagan practice of binding the spirits of the living to the dead. Doing so creates a bond between souls, and opens up some new abilities- namely dream haunting, an ability to share auras, and summoning.

A spirit marriage can between a ghost and anyone alive, not just the Seers able to sense them. In death, as in life, someone can have multiple spirit marriages. In ye old times, spirit marriages could be both romantic things to keep lovers united, or loveless transactional contracts for mutual benefit, or just done between friends.

Spirit marriage typically starts with the person who unlocks the aura of a spirit and makes them a ghost. Jaune and Ruby have the first spirit marriage in this way. Any other spirit marriages require some sort of catalyst, usually consuming some source of the ghost's residual aura and making it your own.

The key to any good marriage, spirit or otherwise, is heart. Literally.

Not that Blake would know anything about that. No siree. She put her own heart in the cookout at Jaune's funeral post-Cardin. Well, a heart that belonged to her anyway. It's not like Jaune had any more use for it.

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Summoning and Fast Travel

Ghosts like Jaune normally move 'normally'- either floating through space and objects or within objects that are themselves moving- but two other means of faster-than-normal travel are possible.

Fast Travel is the simplest. It's not quite teleportation- the ghost still goes from A to B through the space between- but it's the easiest to do. Ghosts can sense where their bodies are no matter the distance, and return to their bodies lightning-fast. When their bodies are in multiple places, they can identify all of them. This means that- with some aura usage- ghosts can cross great distances very quickly to return to their bodies. They can't stop in the middle- so they can only travel between bones- but they're faster than a speeding bullet.

Call it 'Homeward Bone', rather than 'Homeward Bound,' but it's the same principle. A return spell to their body.

Teleportation can be done by a ghost alone, but summoning is done by spirit-spouses. Spirit spouses can 'pull' on their bond to call their ghost to them, using their own aura to speed the process. It's basically the same mechanic, but initiated and aura-covered by the spouse. If two summons come for a ghost at the same time, it's a painful stretch as the spirit is pulled in both directions at the same time. The summoners get a little feedback, though, and can release the summon.

If a summon and teleportation occur to the same destination at the same time, the speed of travel is phenomenal. Jaune streaks across the sky fast enough to appear to be a shooting star.

This leads to a 'ritualization' of Jaune being called by his Coven in season four, where they agree to call Jaune on certain days at certain times and do it by a little ceremony in order to summon Jaune across Remnant to them. This allows Jaune to be a link between all of them, carrying messages across the group and ensuring no one is truly alone for long.

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Some Non-Jaune Ghost Mechanics

Because it's not all about Jaune.

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'Seers'

People who have a sixth-sense for the supernatural, which allows them to detect the supernatural with one of their other senses. Not all of them actually see ghosts- in fact most don't- but 'Seers' is the common term. Being a Seer is a quasi-heriditary thing, almost like a recessive gene, and quite rare- for unhappy reasons.

Ye long time ago before the Kingdoms, ghosts were a normal and accepted part of civilization. Seers were highly valued for their ability to act as mediums. Things changed with the rise of the kingdoms and 'enlightened' civilization. When the Kingdoms began organized study of ghosts and Grimm, 'scholarly' consensus blamed ghosts and Seers for Grimm attacks.

Realizing that Grimm consumed souls, but didn't need to eat bodies to survive, ghosts were blamed for attracting Grimm into human settlements. When it was realized that Grimm have all ghost senses, like some sort of uber-Seer, Seers were suspected of consorting with Grimm. Seers were hunted by Exorcists, specialized anti-ghost Huntsman who believed ghosts attracted Grimm attacks and that people would be safer if Ghosts were kept away. Seers, who attract ghosts, were hunted to find ghosts. In the hysteria that followed, Seers were suspected of consorting with ghosts and Grimm and burned at the stake as witches. This was when most ghost-lore was lost and destroyed, and the survivors were those who could hide their talents or never knew they had them. Most Seers who survived had the less obvious senses- Taste, Touch, and Smell.

All Seers have a special ability associated with their sense.

Seers, with the visual ghost sense, can see ghosts in their normal state. They can also identify objects being possessed by ghosts. Their special ability is to see residual ghost aura- and, with care and careful aura control, move it between objects. Seers used to be the most common sort of Seer, because they were the easiest to identify. Ren is a Seer.

Listeners can hear ghosts speak. Listeners are uniquely suited for pacifying uneasy spirits by understanding their lingering regrets, and Listeners attract more ghosts than any other sort of Seer because of it. A Listener's special power is Rebuke- the ability to order ghosts to do (or not do) something, giving them great power over ghosts. Listeners used to be the most valued mediums, as they alone could talk to both the living and the dead. Ruby is a Listener.

Tasters can, well, taste ghosts. Ghosts taste like sausage. Or fish. Depends on the gender. Tasters are the rarest kind of identified Seer, because most go their entire lives never knowing their ability. More ominously, though- Tasters have the unique ability to consume ghosts. These 'Ghost Eaters' can devour residual aura and take it for themselves- empowering themselves while destroying the soul, much like a Grimm. Eating a ghost grants power, including more Seer senses, for temporary periods. Tasters had the darkest reputation amongst Seers, with one Legend being of a Ghost Eater who consumed so many Ghosts she became a True Seer, one with all the Ghost senses. Cinder is a Ghost Eater. Neo was a Ghost Eater, but had her tongue removed for committing the taboo of consumption.

Feelers (or touchers) can feel the energies of a ghost. Like Seers, they can also feel residual aura in an item, and so can identify if an object is possessed or if there's a ghost hiding inside just by touch. Feelers have the unique ability physically interact with ghosts- touching them, being touched by them, but also holding onto them and preventing them from fleeing. Most of all, Feelers can 'force' a ghost into an object by pushing them in, and then keep the ghost from escaping. During the Witch Hunts Feelers were highly prized by Exorcists, and allowed to live in exchange for their cooperation in restraining ghosts. Feelers are the most common Seer alive today, being among the most numerous and the easiest to identify. People who aren't Feelers would normally fill a deathly chill when touching ghosts, but Feelers feel a sensation of cobwebs. General Ironwood is a Feeler, and lost his arm putting Penny's soul in her new body. A major Exorcist OC, the one who recruits Ren, would be the primary Feeler in the story. As someone who lacks the ability to see the ghosts, Feelers depend on other means to identify ghosts to grapple and trap.

Smellers… well, you get the pattern. They have the 'worst' Seer ability. Most survivors of the Witch Hunts were Smellers, due to how easy it was to hide and how hard it was to prove. Now a days, most Smellers don't know what they are, or that they are smelling ghosts. The primary ability of a Smeller is that they can 'smell' the mood of a ghost- ie. Whether the ghost is happy, mad, etc. Cardin is a Smeller.

Before the Witch Hunts, Seers were uncommon but normal, like being left-handed. Seers were the earliest shamans and spiritualists, and some of the earliest Hunters who worked with ghost companions. Sometimes Seers dominated communities, but other ghosts would turn against abusive Seers.

The Witch Hunts began when early Kingdoms studying Grimm realized they were True Seers, and had all Seer attributes. When it was proven that Grimm didn't need to eat flesh to survive, but did consume souls, the link between Seers and Grimm and the blame on Ghosts for attracting attacks caused a hysteria. This was a dark age where much ghost-lore was destroyed and forgotten, and most Seers who survived did so by hiding.

Since the Witch Hunts, Seers are little more than myth or legend. Most Seers never realize they are, having the less obvious senses and attributing ghosts to other things. Seers and Listeners are the rarest, and usually hide it- though being called crazy now is more of a childhood burden than a desperate defense by family against Exorcists.

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Exorcists

A secretive, private order of Hunters who hunt Ghosts as much as Grimm. Tracing their origin to the First Kingdoms and the Witch Hunts, Exorcists came to believe that Ghosts caused Grimm attacks and that exorcising Ghosts would protect villagers by decreasing the number of Grimm attacks. The Exorcists weren't directly responsible for the Witch Hunts, which were a period of mass hysteria, but they were involved in hunting down Seers… though most Exorcists tried to recruit them to the cause, not burn them. Those that refused were left to the villagers amongst them.

After the Witch Hunts, the Exorcists retreated from public and maintain their exorcisms discretely. Exorcists maintain the public cemeteries, go to distant villages as regular Hunters, and hunt down any sign of the supernatural run amuck. They run the businesses of death, as undertakers and cemetery managers and hospice care, all so that they can exorcise ghosts quietly and discretely. Exorcists only publicly reveal themselves as such in the rare cases there is a rampant bad ghost. Otherwise, they act as normal Hunters in all respects. Unlike Cardin, who was immature, while Exorcists consider ghosts a danger they also try to respect the dead and avoid acts such as desecration.

Modern Exorcists look back at the Witch Hunts as a regretful excess, but see themselves as protecting the public against ghosts and the Grimm they bring. Exorcists would argue that that current age of peace and expansion of civilization in the wilderness is because there are fewer ghosts to prompt Grimm attacks. They would point to the wars creating ghosts as a cause of increased Grimm attacks, and their lack of presence and exorcisms in Mountain Glenn as the reason it fell to Grimm.

It's a non-verifiable argument, and a bit circular in cause and effect, but Exorcists believe they are exorcising Ghosts for the greater good of the living. They are not genocidal towards Seers, and actively recruit them with arguments of protecting people against ghosts- though those that refuse are watched with suspicion.

Exorcist oppose all ghosts, though how best to dispose of them a matter of debate. Helping a ghost 'move on' is indisputably the best-case scenario, but the hardest to achieve due to limits in communication and resources. Banishment expels and keeps a ghost from an area, but could turn them into grimm food. Exorcism removes a ghost possession and all residual aura from an object, but can be resisted by strong ghosts and only targets their aura reserves. Sealing traps a ghost in an object, but sealed ghosts use almost no energy and can last for decades or even centuries. Sealing is considered the most reliable technique, and Exorcists have multiple ways to seal ghosts. The ultimate sealing devices are the artifacts known as 'Lanterns.'

The one way Exorcists will not get rid of ghosts is Ghost Eaters. Eating ghosts is treated as the ultimate taboo, as bad or worse than cannibalism.

The Exorcists retain the largest known surviving lore repository on ghosts, and the most means to exorcise them. The Exorcists and Beacon Academy are not on good terms.

Cardin Winchester is from a family of Exorcists, famous within the Exorcist community. A separate Exorcist OC, who is also a Seer with the ghost-sense of Touch, is the primary Exorcist representative, and the one who tries to recruit Ren.

After the destruction of a Lantern during Season 3, the Exorcists have to raise their profile to deal with all the ghosts returned to the world. The Exorcists are an organization in flux, adapting to a change in the world order, and one where the old ways of treating all enemies ass ghosts and sealing them all away may no longer be possible. Even so, Exorcists still have a role in countering bad ghosts.

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Killing Ghosts

Ghosts 'die'- are permanently dispelled- in three main ways: aura loss, moving on, and consumption.

Aura loss is the natural way. Residual aura is a limited resource, and ghosts naturally consume it when they act or use their powers. Ghosts that stop acting and do almost nothing can last for decades, even centuries, but active ghosts will burn themselves out in months or years. Desecration or exorcism will destroy the residual aura stored in a body or object.

When ghosts get low on aura available, they'll dissipate, and reform from residual aura. This is what happens after Initiation, when Jaune 'recharges.' When ghosts run low on aura over a long period of time, ghosts begin to lose parts of themselves- their memories, activities, minds- as they lose more and more aura. As ghosts hollow-out they become simpler, and more simplistic- focusing on whatever mattered most to them in life, and obsessing over whatever they regret. 'Dying' ghosts can become unstable- burning out in a chaotic last gasps- or wither away into almost nothing as lingering wisps.

Aura loss can be prevented by siphoning or tapping into other aura sources. Residual aura between families can be shared, such as the Arc family legacy of aura build-up in Crocea Mors. Aura can also be taken from the living through spirit marriage. When possessing a living person, a ghost uses no energy of their own, but people with aura can't be possessed against their will.

Aura loss can be accelerated by dissipating the residual aura buildups. Acts of desecration, exorcism, or destroying the repositories will dispel the residual aura. Most Exorcists will attempt to dissipate a spirit by destroying residual aura if they can't seal or convince it to move on.

'Moving on' is the idea way for ghosts to depart- willingly and dissipating with an easy spirit. Ghosts are, at the end of it, people who die with regrets and unresolved desires. Not everyone creates a ghost when they die. Resolving those desires can allow the ghosts to find peace with themselves, and go to the next plane of existence. No Ghost knows for sure what comes after- only that there is something, be it heaven or hell or reincarnation.

Helping ghosts 'move on' used to be the primary role of Seer Shamans. Exorcists admit that moving on is ideal way to resolve a ghost peacefully, but as it is harder and more difficult they rely on quicker, more forceful alternatives instead.

Jaune's reason for not moving on is his lingering regret- his dream of being a Huntsman. Even if Jaune survives until then, upon graduation he may move

Consumption is what happens when a ghost's soul and residual aura are devoured by someone or something else, primarily Grimm. Grimm- who have all Seer senses- will hunt and consume spirits in the wilds, just like anyone else. Seers with the Taste sense can do so as well, and consuming ghosts grants them more Senses. Aura/soul-affecting machinery, such as Maiden Machine, would also consume a soul. Consuming a soul grants power at the cost of the existence of the soul consumed.

Consumption is the ultimate taboo in dealing with ghosts. The Aura-unlocking oath was a vow by the First Hunters and Seers to protect ghosts (their lost friends and ancestors) from the Grimm. Ghost Eaters were villains of legend, consuming the dead in mad quests of power that brought them closer to Grimm. Even Exorcists are put off by the tactic, seeing it too close to Grimm. While early Exorcists banished Ghosts to be eaten by the Grimm and distract from settlements, modern Exorcists prefer to seal ghosts or exorcise their residual aura.

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Weapon Spirits

Weapon spirits are an idea tied to the idea of spirit marriages and significant weapons. Weapon spirits are products are the offspring of spirit marriages, but more equivalent to a Hunter's weapon gaining a soul.

Weapon spirits are ghosts who have never been alive. They survive entirely on the ambient energy of the weapon (or object) they inhabit. As Weapon Spirits always stay within the weapon they inhabit, and (almost) never use any actual power or energy, they are almost never seen or noticed. Weapon spirits only exist in weapons of people with locked aura, who can't 'own' their weapons, or 'willing' Hunters. 'Willing' is where spirit marriage comes in. Weapon spirits are the offspring of spirit marriages and ghost unions, and were never alive to generate ambient energy of their own because they were 'born' after death. Because weapon spirits have no ambient energy of their own to forcibly 'possess' things, and because the only aura a ghost can co-exist with is their own or a willing family, weapon spirits can only really survive in a parent's weapon.

Crocea Mors is the first weapon spirit in the story, and explains the restrictions of sharing residual aura to non-family to Jaune when Yang has her out-of-body existential crisis. Crocea Mors serves as the exposition device bringing up spirit marriage as an actual, explicit, ghost mechanic.

Crocea Mors is a pretty reclusive weapon spirit and was present the whole time. No one knows it's actually a spirit because no one asked, and even if they did it probably wouldn't have responded- Crocea Mors has seen many Arcs wield it, and seen even more Arcs die. The product of an Arc spirit marriage ye long time ago, Crocea Mors and Jaune have their fates tied when Crocea Mors becomes Jaune's only aura source. Since they both cease to be if Jaune uses up all the Arc ambient aura stored in the weapon, Crocea Mors eventually begins to help Jaune develop ghost powers and pushes him towards getting a new body.

Crocea Mors is an old spirit, and spirits only live long enough to become old if they learn to gain more aura than they use. That means taking it from others, and Crocea Mors has survived both by the gradual residual aura buildup from countless generations of Arcs wielding it, but also by spiritual vampirism. Crocea Mors, if it had form, would be a vampire, albeit a knight in sour armor sort. Crocea Mors is ruthless and exploitative- even considering draining Yang's ghost- but has to compromise to Jaune's sense of morality. Crocea Mors is committed to survival, though, and so won't stand by silently if Jaune wastes aura.

There aren't many weapon spirits around due to Exorcists acting freely for all these centuries and 'blessing' the weapons of Hunters regularly, banishing latent spirits without the residual aura reserves to resist. One of the few is Roman's Melodic Cudgel- a weapon he stole, but with whom he has a willing relationship due to his partnership with Neo. Melodic Cudgel allows Roman to put up a fight against ghosts. There are also legendary cursed weapons, ancient artifacts, and a few non-weapons haunting around. At one point in the story there would be a 'Beauty and the Beast' sort of section, where an entire mansion is filled with possessed tea cups and other things.

A few more weapon spirits are conceived in the story… through the Jaune dreams with his coven.

Spiritual marriage doesn't require dream sex to produce weapon spirits, just spiritual/emotional intimacy- and so ghost-Jaune spiritually knocks up his entire coven. Including, yes, Ren. Somehow. It doesn't make any sense to them either. But, hey, it's friends with (spiritual) benefits.

Ruby is the first to get spiritually pregnant despite never having a dirty dream with Jaune, which makes her 'baby' something of a special case as a ghost virgin birth. It was conceived due to their closeness right before/after the Cardin incident, and Ruby delivers during the Season 3 finale. The rest of the Coven picks up their spiritual conception at different points in arcs 1 and 2. Yang conceives after her out-of-body crisis and resulting ghost marriage, Blake picks up after the Docks when she starts a friendly friends-with-benefits dream-only relationship with Jaune, and Weiss conceives at the end of the Dance Arc.

Team JNPR, despite being platonic, also conceive. Ren conceives through the bromance he and Jaune gradually build up, especially when Ren is coerced into joining the Exorcists for Jaune's sake. Nora conceives after the climax of Season 3, during a post-breakup comfort session with Jaune after she feels betrayed by Ren's decision to go with the Exorcists. Pyrrha is the last to conceive, and hasn't as of the end of Season 3. She and Jaune would get closer as a result of her quest against Cinder, and get close enough some time in Season 4 or 5. Ren- it's platonic, but it comes from Jaune helping Ren through his investigation of the Exorcists, and helping set up Ren and Nora.

The coven splits at the end of Season 3 more or less knocked up in spirit, with weapon spirits pregnancy being born in season 4 and inhabiting the weapons of their mothers. Thus, Ruby's 'my baby' for Crescent Rose takes a new meaning. Spiritual pregnancy is mostly played for comedy, what with hunger craves and comedic mood swings being blamed on it, but also plays to drama. The break-up of the teams, the limited time Jaune can spend with any of them as he's summoned back and forth across Remnant, and their own individual plots. Blake in particular has to deal with a real pregnancy with her resumed relationship with Adam as part of her cover. (The baby, when seen, has blonde hair... which causes more drama.)

The weapon spirits, once born, aren't really meant as real characters, or squalling babies. They'd effectively be empowering the weapons with 'life,' making them capable of occasional feats of ghostly power. Actual sentience/awareness for the new spirits would be years away. Crocea Mors would be the only weapon-spirit 'character' for the core group.

Ruby can 'hear' the weapons murmuring softly, and Ren can see the ghostly aura, and the weapons start getting described in terms of personality or emotion, but otherwise they are latent characterizations of the character-weapons rather than new characters in and of themselves. They would 'grow up' well after the story. They can appear in the Jaune dreams, however, where they have shifting and highly symbolic forms ranging from weapons to children.

The biggest mechanic of the ghost babies, besides Crocea Mors as an exposition device, is that weapon spirits allow physical weapons to damage spirits. This is why Ghost Jaune can fight ghosts with Crocea Mors, why Roman can fight with Jaune rather than Jaune pull the breaks and stop the Breach immediately, and why all party members will be able to deal with hostile ghosts even when Jaune isn't there.

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Covens

The Sisterhood Who Murdered Jaune is a mouthful, but it was important because the Sisterhood (as it refers to itself) gradually becomes an actual Coven when dealing with Jaune.

Covens are groups of witches, the seers and mundanes who consort with ghosts and spirits. Since the Witch Hunts ye long ago, Covens have been secretive and reclusive. Covens have a cooperative relationship with ghosts, sharing their aura through spirit-marriage in exchange for a ghost's assistance. Covens have secret rituals, questionable intentions, and dark rumors. Covens can be centered around one ghost or many.

The Sisterhood Who Murdered Jaune is Jaune's coven. First identified as such by the Exorcists, it's not the only one to have existed. Salem and Glynda were both members of covens back in the day, and the Exorcists regard covens with suspicion. The Sisterhood practices, when spied upon, show that a lot of the secret rituals are really just silly friend games done for atmosphere, like a group of geeks dressing in costumes before playing D&D. A coven's nature depends of the quality of the people, and as far as intentions go…

The Sisterhood's intentions are to keep Jaune alive through graduation by sharing aura through spirit-marriage. There's a theological dispute between RWBY and JNPR about whether they should aim for a new body or help Jaune move on, but it's not a real issue (yet). It might come forth when Jaune really does near the end of the Arc Aura Reserves, but until then they're delying that day and willing to respect Jaune's wishes.

Despite starting platonically, the Coven unintentionally becomes a quasi-polyamory as the girls (and Ren) 'share' Jaune, have Jaune Dreams, and Jaune helps brings them closer together (and back together after Season 3).

Covens other than the Sisterhood don't factor much in the plot in seasons 1-3, but in Season 4 Pyrrha, Ruby, and Nora would encounter another coven. This coven- a bad coven with bad ghosts led by Brenda Badwitch- would illustrate the harm that conspiratorial covens and bad ghosts can do to a community.

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Grimm Ash

Grimm Ash is the stuff Grimm are made of- literally. The black material that dissolves when Grimm are killed, Grimm Ash has spiritual properties that affect ghosts. Grimm have all 5 ghosts senses, being able to taste/touch/see/smell/feel Grimm, and Grimm will target spirits as much as the living. Even after being killed Grimm are a threat.

Grimm Ash is like dust, in that it sticks to ghosts. The negativity of Grimm can affect ghosts, overpowering them and turning them mad if they lack the will power or aura to resist. Grimm ashen ghosts are called 'Revenants,' and they are Bad Ghosts to the max. Grimm ash dissolves too fast to be used, but it is effectively a type of dust in how it relates to ghosts.

Grimm have unclear relationships to ghosts and seers. Grimm will devour ghosts, and the first Hunters (and the aura-unlocking ritual) were living people who swore to protect ghosts from Grimm. Unlike the common thought that Grimm grow older with age, they truth is that Grimm really grow stronger and wiser when they consume spirits. Animal spirits (nature spirits) do exist- which Grimm will kill in the wild for hunter/power- but it's really the consumption of ghosts that evolve Grimm.

When 'taste' Seers consume enough ghosts, they become Grimm. This implies that the first Grimm were power-hungry Seeers who consumed so many ghosts they literally became monsters, possibly as a result of a curse. This is what happens to Cinder in the season 3 finale, when she feasts upon souls in an Exorcist Lantern.

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The Lanterns

An Exorcist Relic. Lanterns were created Ye Long Time Ago by a primeval civilization to deal with ghosts. A Lantern literally looks like a shuttered lantern when closed, and has no special indicators to Seers or Grimm, but when it's opened it beams brilliantly and golden. Any ghost that sees the Lantern is attracted like a moth to a flame. Any ghost that touches the Lantern disappears, and only the strongest ghosts can resist its pull.

Lanterns are great spiritual prisons built by the Primeval Civiliation to contain ghosts. Inside the Lantern are countless 'jails' like a cell block, with a seemingly never-ending number of stories of cells built on a 'cliff' that is actually the inside of the Lantern. Inside the prison, 'golems' serve as the guards keeping the prison maintained and returning ghosts to their cells even if they manage to escape.

Spirits within a Lantern are in stasis, neither dying or able to pass on to the next phase of existence. Nora's Grandmother is one such spirit trapped on the edge of non-existence, unable to move on. The Lanterns are not 'cruel,' they don't cause pain to the ghosts, but the ghosts inside are unable to move on. If a Lantern is destroyed, all ghosts inside are released and scatter across the world, looking like shooting stars in the sky.

Lanterns were originally created with the help of both ghosts and the living. The Lanterns fell to the Exorcists during the Witch Hunts, and are now closely held and hidden. Once exclusively used to seal away bad ghosts, the Exorcists have used it to seal away all types of ghosts. The breaking of a lantern has released many innocent spirits, but also let loose ancient and evil spirits back into Remnant. The Exorcists have many lanterns, but their over-use on good and evil ghosts alike has filled many of them to capacity. Were the Exorcists able to release good ghosts, they could use the lanterns on the evil ghosts let loose by Pyrrha, but they've lost the means to do so.

Cinder hunts the Lanterns to consume the souls trapped inside. Just one Lantern holds enough spirits to turn Cinder into a Grimm, albeit incompletely since Pyrrha destroys it to save Jaune and Summer. The Exorcist OC who recruits Ren works to protect the remaining Lanterns from Cinder.

Jaune and Ren work to infiltrate one Lantern to rescue Nora's Grandmother in Season 4 after finding that she was sealed, not banished. Removing a good spirit but not the bad ones would be a new capability for the Exorcists, and open up the possibility that the currently filled Lantern-prisons could gradually be emptied of good ghosts so the Lanterns could be used against Bad Ghosts.

The light of a Lantern can repel Grimm, but only briefly. Because souls have power, and Grimm are the True Seers with all ghost senses, Grimm need to be prevented from consuming souls whenever possible. The Exorcists protect the Lanterns from Grimm at all costs, because if any Grimm were to devour a Lantern and all the ghosts within, the results would be world-shaking (or moon-breaking) cataclysm.

To prevent such a mythic cataclysm from happening, again, most Lanterns are protected deep within the Hunter Schools. The Exorcists have a few of their own. Because the shutters of Lanterns hide the ghosts within from the Grimm, there are rumors and legends of lost Lanterns in forgotten Ruins.

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Types of Ghosts

Ghosts are a broad category with lots of special conditions. All ghosts survive on residual aura and/or dust.

Ghosts- Ghosts is a general term, but can specify 'aura-using' spirits who are awakened and have individuality and awareness. Ghosts can use residual aura from life for ghost abilities.

Spirits- Spirits are pretty much anyone who dies but doesn't move on. Since all individuals have latent aura, anyone can produce a spirit, but only spirits who have their aura unlocked before or after death become ghosts. Most spirits who aren't ghost are simplistic, harmless beings who simply fixate on what they couldn't do in life. Spirits typically have minimal impact on the living because they don't have the aura reserves or awareness to do much.

Wraith- Wraiths are angry spirits, driven mad by fury at their deaths. Wraiths can also be Spirits who are driven mad by the desecration of their bodies. The White Fang turns harmless spirits into wraiths by unclear means of desecration. Blake goes undercover to find out how, especially when it's shown that the White Fang is somehow corralling ghosts and taking them to Vale before turning them into Wraiths. Bodies are moved in coffins, but everything else is a mystery. (Totally not an excuse for not being planned.)

Revenant- Revenants are ghosts who are corrupted and empowered by Grimm ash. Revenants are aware, awake, and angry. Revenants can control or direct Grimm. When a Revenant is around its bad news, though the corruption of the Grimm can be lessened by dispelling the Grimm ash on a ghost. Legends tell of Revenants overthrowing and even ruling small kingdoms, using Grimm as their servants.

Specters- Ghosts who aren't directly malevolent, but who feed off the residual aura of the just-died. The vultures of the ghostdom, specters follow people they think are going to die to steal as much residual aura as they can when they do. If someone becomes a ghost, their after-life may be much shorter if a pack of Specters is ready when they just get used to being a ghost. While specters are usually too greedy/covetous of aura to expend it and be a threat, there are some specters who 'help' someone meet their timely demise.

Wisps- Wisps are ghosts and spirits who have lost so much residual aura that they barely hang on. Frequently phasing in and out of existence, wisps typically simplify to what was most important to them in life or the after life. Summer Rose is a Wisp, trapped in a state of barely existing off of the residual aura of Ruby's cloak, but unable to be close due to Ruby's rebuke.

Guardian Spirits- Benevolent ghosts who regret leaving someone behind, and refuse to move on in order to continue to watch over them. Guardian spirits can be parents, lovers, or even close friends. Guardian spirits are more active spirits, willing to use their residual aura to help their favored. Tragically, Guardian spirits will often use up all their aura rather than move on, self-sacrificing to the last. Moving on typically requires some goal or moving on to occur on the part of the subject- such as a child growing up and being happy. Because guardian spirits focus on their targets, they frequently devolve into wisps. Summer was a guardian spirit before becoming a wisp.

Will-o-wisp- Wisps that have accumulated fire dust for some reason. Fire dust can provide a faint glow easily visible to the living, even as the spirits mindlessly move for their own purposes. Also known as 'fool's fire.'

Weapon spirit- Spirits conceived between a ghost and living person in a spirit-marriage. Because they are never alive, they have no residual aura of their own and can only survive based off their parents. Weapon spirits can grow personalities and identities, like Crocea Mors, but are mostly treated more as a person's weapon 'awakening' than as an actual character or personality. Weapon spirits allow weapons to damage otherwise intangible ghosts.

Nature Spirits: A natural occurrence in the wilds. Nature spirits are produced when Grimm die without human/faunus involvement. Whether to natural causes or exceptional animals, the Grimm Ash is purified over time and becomes a nature spirit. Nature spirits are born of nature, and protect nature, defending their environment from external threats. Grimm hunt nature spirits as they would human spirits, but nature spirits can fight back, albeit often at a disadvantage. While Nature Spirits typically fear/oppose the encroachment of mankind, spirits have no quarrel with those in tune with and respectful of nature. Nature spirits aren't sentient, being basically magical animals of the Grimm, but protecting them from Grimm can get gratitude and reciprocity.

Unlike most ghosts, nature spirits don't run out of aura. They gather ambient aura from the environment and all living things around them, without harming anyone. While Nature Spirits are victims of Grimm more often than not, there are areas where particularly powerful nature spirits keep zones Grimm-free. There is at least one Dragon-type nature spirit who exists and keeps an entire region free of Grimm- though development of the region threatens to despoil the nature that sustains the Dragon who keeps the Grimm away that makes the settlements possible. Ultimately, Jaune learning Nature Spirit aura-absorption is a key point to stopping his death and decline.

Legion: A Legion is a gestalt (collective) of spirits sharing the possession of a single object or individual. These spirits are so closely binded that they actually do merge, 'sticking' together and unable to separate for long/at all. A Legion is a collective, and the collective will dominates as a singular but shifting persona. Neo is an example of a legion spirit, possessing a single body. A Legion spirit has the power, and residual aura, of all the ghosts it is composed of- meaning that for a ghost with a vessel, like Neo, if she has 5-7 ghosts she'd have 5-7 times the normal residual aura reserves to use for ghost powers. Legions are powerful spirits, but the collective nature makes it almost impossible for them to move on.

Angels: Ghosts of Atlas who have created a society/civilization in the frozen, dust-filled North. Angels are ghosts who organized to protect people from Grimm, rather than the Hunters who organized to protected ghosts from Grimm. Angles have a hierarchy- and a mostly-benevolent but isolationist god-king- and an idea of a 'Kingdom of Heaven.' Angels are broadly benevolent towards the living, but can obsess about strict codes of conduct. Angels exist in Atlas thanks to the frozen tundra killing Grimm and protecting them from discovery, but also due to the rule of their god-king keeping them back from Human society. The god-king is an ancient ghost, almost a whisp now, who remembers a time when the Moon was Whole and Ghosts Ruled the World. The Angels are uber-isolationist, and preparing to fight some long-forgotten Great Enemy.

The Schnees have a special tie to Angels after discovering the Angels, but keeping their existence a secret. In exchange, the Schnees were blessed with their semblance and have a guardian angel who's trying to protect President Schnee.

Devils: Ancient and extremely evil ghosts. Tainted to the core with Grimm Ash, Devils are Seriously Bad- wicked, clever, powerful, and malevolent. Devils are ghosts from the Primeval Empire- the ancient, cruel civilization that built the golems as slave-warriors and created the Lanterns. The Devils have survived… somewhere, somehow, and probably off of tyrannizing the living in some secret and deep place. The Devils- and the Primeval Empire- had something to do with the rise of Grimm, the shattering of the Moon, and so on. They were an extremely, extremely late-game enemy who would first be foreshadowed by the Angels. Despite their ghost powers, including an ability to manipulate/incite Grimm, they are vulnerable to disruption or exorcism and so depend on others. The Devils are tied to Cinder.

Crypt Lords: Mummies, Vampires, and every other kind of dead but moving ruler. Undead ghost-god-kings of the Primeval Empire, and more recent ghost-tyrranies, Crypt Lords still have their powers and residual aura to spare. Unlike the Devils, who have survived as ghosts all this time, the Crypt Lords retained their bodies- and the bodies of many of their followers. Crypt Lords still rule their necropolises, burial palaces or entire cities in which hundreds or thousands of their followers would be buried alive with them to serve them after death. Crypt Lords are generally evil, but occasionally sentient, and can even be bargained with- but they are very covetous, and don't give their treasures lightly. Crypt Lords- though not a faction- would have information on the Devils, ancient relics, and one would even have a Lantern. The Necropolis would be filled with ghosts enslaved (or devoured) by the Lord of the Crypt, but while enforces would be zombies/skeletons or even, for the oldest sorts, golems. Crypt Lords and necropolis would be a 'boss zone' or sorts for the group to get Ancient Artifacts or find information on the Devils, and so on. Crypt Lords are not unified- too selfish and insular to care- and not aligned with Cinder or the Devils even if they know of them. Cinder would attack some crypt lords in a order to devour their souls/steal ancient artifacts.

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Curses

Curses are a broader concept of malevolent intent by ghosts. When ghosts curses someone, they trade their own life force to negatively harm someone else. Curses are a mark of obsession, an expression of hatred so intense that someone would die just to make someone else suffer. It's typically done by 'sane' mad ghosts- rather than near-feral wraiths- who died cursing their enemies and know they'll die a second death unable to hurt them any other way.

Curses can have 'magical' effects on people, from bad luck to madness. When most people would assume is 'that person is possessed,' it's usually a curse. Curses can target rooms or locations- like a cursed room where objects will fly through the air- or people. When targeting people, curses can cause the same sort of instability and corruption of spirit that grimm ash causes ghosts.

President Schnee, Weiss's father, has been cursed by the ghosts of Faunus who died under the SDC's influence. Weiss's father is also cursed by the ghost of Schnees and other humans who died for the SDC, and are attempting to make Weiss's father ensure their sacrifice was not in vain. It's the Schnee's curse to bear the curses of both sides of the Human/Faunus racial strife, and it's a curse President Schnee never wanted Weiss to bear.

Weiss's father sent/drove Weiss to Beacon in order to protect her from the curses that haunt the Schnees.

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Familiars

Animal ghosts tied to a person. Familiars would be spirits of animals, specifically animals with unlocked aura, who bonded with specific individuals. In exchange for sharing the living person's aura, Familiars are loyal companions who use their ghost abilities to see the partner succeed. Familiars are typically pets whose loyalty extends beyond the grave, but their exact creation might require the assistance of a human/faunus ghost.

One idea for Cardin was that he'd have a familiar of his own, a grey zone for Exorcists who normally oppose spirits and showing that the Exorcists are not quite as anti-ghost as they appear. Cardin's familiar would have been responsible for framing Jaune. However, this was a bit too hard to plan, and if the familiar died it might have been too sympathetic for Cardin and too villainous for Jaune.

Zwei is an example of a would-be familiar. If Zwei died- probably for tragedy in season 4- his spirit would stick around as a familiar for Ruby and/or a ghost-dog companion for Jaune. (Zwei's residual aura would- ironically- be on Jaune's bones that Zwei keeps as a chew toy.)

No familiars were actually killed in the planning of this story.

/

Golems

Technically what Penny is, and what Jaune tries to be during the times Jaune tries to claim a robot body.

Golems are constructs that serve as artificial bodies for ghosts. They provide form, protect the ghostly aura inside, and because they are 'owned' by the ghost they take almost no aura to move. Golems are actually an ancient lost art from the same primeval civilizations that invented the Lanterns, and were used as both laborers and warriors. Because they were inhabited by ghosts, and not living spirits, golems could touch and affect ghosts.

Ancient golems didn't create aura, like Penny, but preserved the aura of the ghosts inside almost perfectly. Some golems still function within the forgotten ruins of ancient civilizations. Only archeologists, and the Exorcists, know of their existence or have ever seen any. The same technology used to trap and preserve ghosts was used in the Lanterns. The Exorcists studied the golems and Lanterns to develop sealing technologies, but were never able to replicate the Lanterns themselves.

Penny was designed based off golems. She was given free will, as Ironwood never intended to have a slave, but slavery is what the original golems were made for. With the return of ghosts, and the fallout of the Penny Project, nefarious actors in Atlas turn to creating golems as both a means to combat the White Fang and rogue ghosts, but also for more militant objectives.

The idea of building a golem army to face the grimm would be a 5/6/7th season problem, foreshadowed for seasons before becoming prominent. A golem army is impressive, but it begs a question-

If the ancients had golem armies, why did they fall?

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Unborn and Unwanted

Unborn are the souls of children who died before birth. Unlike weapon spirits, who never had a body, the Unborn had a body and lost it. They have little residual aura, little time left, and can sense it. They burn out fast, like fire flies. Despite having never lived, they have the intelligence of a young child, and are frequently emotional even as they soon starve away.

The Unwanted are souls of aborted children- either those fully aborted, or the souls of children turned into homunculi during pregnancy. Like the Unborn, they have intelligence. Ripped from their own body, they can possess no other. They're doomed, and they know it, and they are angry. Unwanted are angry, vengeful spirits- either at the perpetrator who harmed their mother, or the parents who conceived but refused to have them. Unwanted are some of the most dangerous ghosts, murdering their 'parents' so that they won't die alone.

Blake would be faced with an Unwanted spirit as a consequence of her 'resuming' a relationship with Adam after her fake defection back to the White Fang.

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Genesis Pools

Like a Grimm spawning pit, but for Homunculi.

The Angels of Atlas have their own ghost-Kingdom without relying on the Kingdom of Atlas. They do this through the Genesis Pools, which… well, basically spawn soulless homunculi that the angels ration and share for aura. The Angels use these homunculi to dig and build their kingdom.

Genesis Pools, according to Angel Lore, what predated the Grimm spawning pits. The most evil of Seers and spirits corrupted the Genesis Pools, creating the Grimm, who went on to taint all others. Atlas has the last Genesis pools, frozen beneath the ice and tundra that not even Grimm can survive.

The Schnee Family semblance- which allows summoning- is tied to the Genesis Pools in some way. When the Schnees mined Atlas, they broke through to the Kingdom of Angels and found the Genesis Pools. In exchange for keeping the location a secret and protecting it from Grimm, the Angels blessed the Schnees with the Semblance, which summons Angels to the aid of Schnees.

Salem Arc, Jaune's mother, is aware of the Genesis Pools. She can't access or make one herself, but she believes she can use a Grimm spawning pit to spawn Jaune a new body. Such a body would be Grimm-born, and have dark Grimm influences if inhabited.

Genesis pools, and Homunculi, offer a prospective way for Jaune to have a living body.

/

Homunculi

Artificial humans, they are the opposite of weapon spirits, empty shells waiting to be possessed. Weapon spirits are souls born without bodies- homunculi are bodies born without spirits.

Strictly speaking, homunculi can be made the old-fashioned natural way- if a child is born brain-dead, a ghost can take over and provide new life and soul to the body. 'Homunculi' comes from that in Remnant there exist natural herbs and potions to deliberately do this. A baby's soul could be aborted, or prevented from forming at all, thus allowing an empty shell to be born and be possessed. In ancient primeval empires, Homunculi were used to preserve ghost-kings across generations.

Homunculi can also be formed in other, non-abortive ways as well. Cloning could be used to create homunculi. Rituals and Magic on spawning pools, like what the Grimm are formed from, might suffice as well. This is what Salem would have attempted to do for Jaune- spawn him a new body from a Grimm spawning pool. There could be a 'frankenstein' homunculi as well- bodies patched together by mad scientists and re-animated with ghost and a bit of science. By and large, though, homunculi refer to flesh and blood.

Despite having no soul and being 'empty,' homunculi can function without one- they just operate on base instinct and stimuli. If a Homunculi is left alone and unpossessed long enough, it can even start to form a soul of its own, though Homunculi souls are almost non-existent and have a shakier hold on their body than 'real' people.

Besides the prospect of a Homunculi body for Jaune, three Homunculi were tentatively planned for the story.

First, and firmest, is Neo. Neo is a homunculi- who is possessed by multiple ghosts. The ghosts take turns, 'sharing' Neo's body, which is what causes Neo's constant eye-color change.

Secondly, and far more tentative, would be a child of Blake's. This was undecided, since I wasn't sure of timeskip and other things, but after 'defecting' to the White Fang Blake 'resumes' her relationship with Adam and becomes pregnant for reals while also pregnant with a weapon spirit. When Adam discovered the baby wasn't his- that it was blonde- he'd try to force Blake to abort it. If it was born alive- if- it would have been a homunculi.

The third, and final homonculi of the story...

Yang.

/

Author Note:

And who says summaries can't have cliffhanger plot twists?

A lot of mechanics and ideas, many of which never really got planned into anything in particular. Sorry for the delay- stuff and things happened. You know- stuff. And things.

I think there was a glitch with FFN yesterday, so if you left any thoughts I can't seem them. Feel free to add them again to any thoughts about these mechanics.

Next will be character concepts and some of the future character arcs for the future. This will go further into season 4 and beyond. If stuff and things continue to happen, you may have to wait a day longer than usual.


	12. The Team of Necrophiliacs

Character Arcs

All of core plots were meant to be carried forward with the various character plots. If it wasn't clear already already, the idea of Spirit Marriages to share aura was a growing concept that was just going to get bigger. Much of Season Two was to be Jaune relying more and more on his friends, their aura, and the spirit marriages that result once Jaune can enter their dreams. Some, like Nora and Ruby, are chaste. Others, are not.

Add in the quest of getting Jaune a new body, and the question of 'what next?'…

(Don't call this a 'harem fic,' though. Harem is such a dirty word. I prefer… an open relationship of various degrees of emotional investment amongst a murderous coven of cannibalistic necrophiliacs. Usual Harem do need not apply.)

What those individual characters sketches were, and the sort of character jokes planned, follow.

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Ruby

A Listener, one of the few people able to hear ghosts. This makes her a natural friend for Jaune, as she's the easiest one for him to talk to and initially the only one he can.

Ruby had a hard life growing up because only she could hear ghosts, including the ghost of her mother. Ruby was relentlessly mocked for her claims, which led her to breaking down one day and demanding Summer leave her alone. Her Rebuke drove Summer away, leaving her alone, and left Ruby filled with guilt. Ruby attempted to ignore ghosts/ 'imaginary friends' afterwards but they're distractions that contributed to her reputation for socially inept. The spirits of her childhood were especially distracting since 'spirits' (unawoken ghosts) were to simplistic to entertain conversation, and she could hear ghosts dying of lack of aura. Ruby believed in ghosts, but also feared she might just be crazy, and Jaune is the first ghost who's responded to her in some time.

Ruby is quite sensitive about ghosts, and is greatly relieved to not only find one others acknowledge is real (Jaune), but to find someone else (Ren) who went through similar experiences. Ruby and Ren become closer friends than in canon on account of both team leader responsibilities and ghost-sensitivity.

Ruby is a natural friend for Jaune, but also the first real crisis during the Cardin incident. Ruby and Jaune have a rooftop moment in which Ruby confides her past, and Cardin overhearing allows him to frame Jaune for spreading it. This drives a wedge between Ruby and Jaune and nearly leads to disaster.

Ruby's Rebuke power as a Listerner-Seer is a real but subtle thing that wouldn't be identified until later. Early on it would appear to be more of a homage to Arc Words, the idea that Jaune specifically can't go back on his word, but in truth Ruby has this ability over most ghosts. Ruby's Rebukes are powerful and something she can regret- like when she drove her mother away, or tells Jaune to never talk to her again. In season two it would make her highly sought by the Exorcists, but Ruby refuses on account of siding with Jaune and never wanting to enforce her will on reasonable ghosts again. (Mad and evil ghosts who aren't interested in conversation aren't affected.)

As the person who unlocked Jaune's aura and awakened him as a ghost, Ruby is Jaune's first spirit-marriage even without a catalyst. Jaune and Ruby have a special relationship, including that Jaune can enter Ruby's cape even when he can't possess most people's clothes.

Jaune and Ruby's ghost marriage and Jaune Dreams are chaste, despite the rest of Team RWBY's wonders and suspicions. It focuses primarily on their friendship and themes of innocence, but also mutual reassurance as Jaune sees the sorts of dreams and old fears Ruby hides from even Yang and Ruby supports Jaune through this trial or that worry. Ruby helps Jaune remember what it means to be alive as they do simple things like play imaginary video games, make cookies, and anything else Ruby imagines up in her dream-scape. When Ruby has nightmares- which early on involve a fear that she's crazy and only imagining Jaune, and then turns to fears of her phantom pregnancy and later fears for the divided friends- Jaune's presence calms the dreams and makes them better, allowing Ruby to control her own dreamscape when Jaune is there.

When Jaune doesn't have a body or Crocea Mors, he frequently rides in Ruby's cloak. Jaune often raises Ruby's hood as his own 'face,' and it's often treated as a piggy-back ride when it's not a ghostly 'hug' between them. Ruby is the first of the Coven to conceive a weapon spirit, delivered by Salem and Summer, who possesses Crescent Rose upon birth and gives new meaning to Ruby's phrase 'my baby.' From then on, Ruby can hear murmurings from the scythe, expressions of contentment or dissatisfaction, though full weapon sentience is years away.

Ruby becomes more of a supporting player after the Cardin Arc during Season 2 and 3, when the White Fang ghosts start mattering more. Ruby tries to calm them, but only has limited success. Ruby becomes sought by the Exorcists to help them, which is also when she learns about her Rebuke ability and re-affirms the guilt she already had about banishing her Mother's ghost. Ruby goes through a period of depression- even dressing more gothic- until Jaune comforts her out of it. During season 2, Ruby shows symptoms of the phantom pregnancy she isn't aware of.

The Summer plot comes to the front in Season 3, when Jaune discovers that Summer is still dead (no surprise) but also still around as a ghost (surprise). Summer isn't dead-dead, but a whisp- a non-hostile fragmentary ghost so low on residual aura that she barely hangs on to non-existence. Ren and Jaune don't see her most of the time because she regularly phases out of existence, and can't be within a certain radius of Ruby due to Ruby's Rebuke all those years ago. Summer has spent years trying to look after Ruby and Yang as best she can, despite not being able to directly approach Ruby, and is a subtle actor at significant moments.

Summer is the voice Ruby 'hears' when leading Weiss to Jaune at the start of the story, and the one who leads Ruby to the kitchen where Jaune is making apology cookies. She's the ghost Jaune sees leading them to the train. Because of Ruby's rebuke long ago, Summer can't directly approach or speak to her, even from a distance. Therefore Summer has to abuse loopholes- not having a conversation or doing something that would 'bother' Ruby when she wants to be alone- to have any impact.

Summer's last source of residual aura is Ruby's cloak, and she's barely holding on to existence at the edges of Ruby's rebuke boundary. Jaune's frequently inhabiting of the cloak allow some of her residual aura to rub off on him and be carried outside the rebuke radius, gradually giving Summer a slightly firmer presence in reality. Despite that, Summer is on her last legs and near the edge of never coming back.

Jaune's discovery and rescue of Summer would be part of the emotional climax to Season 3. Summer is reunited with her family shortly before the tournament finals (and the finale), just in time to help deliver Ruby's spirit-baby. Summer almost falling to the Lantern becomes the catalyst for Pyrrha breaking the Lantern to save Jaune, who's saving Summer. Summer survives the finale, and is almost ready to Move On now that she's at long-last reunited with her family, to Ruby and everyone else's distress. Summer chooses not to Move On, to stay with Ruby and the rest as long as she can, even as she starts entering the Aura Starvation cycle of pain and incapacitation.

Jaune places Summer into the robot body made for him, even though it means giving up his own chance of a Penny-bot body to ensure his own life. Jaune's sacrifice and Summer's survival marks the moment Ruby starts to have more than platonic feelings for him, even though Summer is kidnapped by Raven soon after.

Ruby ends Season 3 joining Pyrrha in the hunt for Salem, leaving the hunt for Summer and Raven to Yang. In Season 4, Ruby serves as quasi-team leader for Pyrrha, Nora, and Penny (Team RNPP, aka Team Rest In Pieces) as they search for Cinder and deal with ghosts along the way. When the group finds the Brenda Badwitch coven, Brenda wants to kidnap/force Ruby to join her coven as a Seer-translator for the ghosts, which causes the RNPP conflict as they try to overcome the rival coven.

Ruby's season 4 character plot focuses on her growing feelings for Jaune, the breakup of the Sisterhood, and the aftermath of her pregnancy as Crescent Rose becomes a spirit-weapon.

As Jaune spends less time with her in order to be with all the Coven equally across Remnant, Ruby has her own insecurities about the wellbeing of everyone and dealing with the recently born weapon-spirit. Ruby's not jealous as much as she tries to monopolize him when she can. Ruby's happy enough to see Jaune off to go check on their scattered friends, but eagerly awaits his return all the same, especially to help her deal with the quasi-parenthood of their ghost-child. Ruby's the happiest to see Jaune return to Team RNPP, and not-quite monopolizes his time and attention when he is around. Partly because she wants to, and partly because she has worries/wants to show/wants to keep Jaune involved in Crescent Rose's nascent growth as a weapon spirit. Even if it's not a 'normal' child, it's still her baby.

Ruby's turning to Jaune for emotional support reflects her growing interest, but Ruby also adds on Jaune's burdens at a time when Jaune is worrying about everyone's character crisis. Jaune is overstressed and over-taxed as is, and Ruby isn't helping, coming to a near breaking point where Jaune lashes out at Ruby in frustration. Other people's character plots- Blake being trapped by Adam, Ren trying to break into a Lantern, and Weiss just trying to survive her haunted home- are just more critical and need Jaune's focus.

It's a fight of sorts, and it hurts Ruby because she thinks Jaune is rejecting her and their spirit-child… which isn't true at all. Jaune's just stressed, but Ruby's hurt adds more to Jaune's plate at a time he really doesn't need it. Ultimately Pyrrha plays mediator to help Ruby understand, and so Ruby grows a bit more emotionally secure and self-sufficient to allow Jaune to focus on those who need help more. Jaune's a dead dad, after all, and even if when he's not around Ruby has her coven-sisters and fellow spirit-spouses to rely on.

The comes to a head with the Brenda Badwitch coven, which RNPP ultimately handle on their own without Jaune while Jaune is tied up in the Ren and Blake subplots that are climaxing at once. Even though Jaune promises Ruby she can summon him if she really needs to, Ruby and RNPP are able to handle the rival coven on their own, sparing Jaune the trip and a trap that had been intended for him.

In Season 5 and beyond, Team RNPP gradually re-collects the coven as the hunt for Cinder takes them into ancient necropolis and across the world. Ruby and Jaune's relationship is secure, in that Ruby is comfortable sharing Jaune with the coven as needed, and would only grow tighter as Jaune has the time to take a closer role with the weapon-spirits.

In the Sisterhood Who Murdrered Jaune, every member has a Coven Name as part of their super-special-secret society cult club that forms as a result.

Ruby's Coven Name is Sister Ghost Whisperer.

After Jaune's body is defiled by Cardin, Goodwitch helps purify his corpse to remove the spiritual corruption. This ends up destroying the body, but Goodwitch makes a number of relics from Jaune's body, enough for every member of the coven.

Ruby's Jaune relic is a cross, which she uses as a clasp for her cloak. When Ruby holds it she can feel Jaune touch her and vice versa as if she has the sense of ghost-touch, though it only works with Jaune. This usually occurs when he gives her ghostly hugs he gives using her cloak.

Ruby's relationship with Jaune is based on closeness becoming something more. Ruby and Jaune start close and platonic, and only grow closer over the first few seasons. The rescue of Summer tips the feelings to the romantic at the end of season 3, though Ruby's expression of that was never really planned. Ruby is aware that Jaune has something with Yang and others, though they hide dirty dreams from her, but due to the weird nature of the coven and how the spirit marriages are introduced before Feelings get involved, Ruby doesn't feel neglected or get jealous about 'sharing' Jaune with her Coven-sisters. As long as Jaune isn't 'neglecting' their friendships she's fine, and so Ruby's actually the first to think of the coven and spirit-marriage in polyamorous terms.

Ruby's openly romantic relationship with Jaune would have been the last- maybe season 5 or 6- after after the Coven had reunited. It would have marked the thematic closure/rejoining of the coven, as the first spirit marriage would be the last to be something more.

It would have 'officially' started on Ruby birthday, to celebrate her coming of age and the Sisterhood being back together again. It likely would have been almost anti-climatic in its reciprocation with Jaune- a gentle transition rather than tense confession- with a general feel from the friends of 'weren't they together in all but name already?' It would followed the general trend of spirit-marriages-turned-more, with Ruby joining the Coven's unique polyamory. Ruby's first Jaune Dream of an un-chaste sort would have been at her own request, her 'birthday present' from Jaune being to become a woman and not just a girl. Ruby would ask, Jaune would reciprocate, and that, as they say, is that… with Ruby waking up the next morning to wet sheets, waiting friends, and Yang welcoming her as a Sister of another sort- pole sisters.

Ruby is the only member member of the coven who isn't directly interested in Jaune moving on or getting a new body. Ruby doesn't want Jaune to 'die' by moving on, especially once she has Crescent Rose as a spirit-child, but Ruby also fears losing Jaune if he had a body and was taken away (or just taken) by someone else. Ruby would be happy if the Coven shared ghost Jaune existed indefinitely.

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Weiss

A normal person with no aptitude to ghosts, Weiss none the less has been affected by them for much her life even if she doesn't know it.

Weiss has never known ghosts, and has spent her life believing they weren't real. In truth, much of her life has been affected by them without her knowledge, a consequence of the Faunus suffering by the SDC. The ghosts of angry humans have been just as active in response as both sides of the Human-Faunus conflict continue to fight from beyond the grave in the halls of her haunted-mansion of a home. Weiss's mother died in a freak ghost-caused accident. The Schnee family is under a curse placed by angry ghosts, and Weiss's Father is influenced/affected as a result. Weiss's ostracization with her father is in part an attempt by him to protect her from the spirits afflicting him. When Weiss returns to Atlas in Season 4, the Schnee Manor would have been a haunted house.

Weiss does have something in her favor, though- angels. Angels are benevolent guardian spirits with their own society hidden in Atlas. Weiss's mother became one such, who survived and has tried to protect her family. The Schnees have ties to the Angels of Atlas, giving new meaning to the nick-name 'Snow Angel.' Factoring in Season 3, Weiss's family semblance of summoning sigils have the ability to give spirits a temporary form. Using her sigil, Weiss can summon/give ghosts (Jaune) a glowing white form, even if she still can't hear or see him otherwise.

In the early story, Weiss's role- besides comedic scapegoat and screaming really loud at everything scary- is mostly tied to her role in the coven and character plot with Jaune. In the Sisterhood, Weiss goes from reluctant scapegoat to active participant, organizing them and leading in their rituals (planning sessions) on how to save Jaune. Weiss approaches the issue of saving Jaune's afterlife in a methodical fashion, systematically investigating the leads they have. Weiss even embraces the charge of having murdered Jaune, with tsunderish banter such as 'no one's allowed to kill you but me' and trying to cover for Pyrrha when Salem is looking for Jaune's murderer.

Later on- in a hypothetical season four after the tournament- Weiss was going to be separated from the group to return to Atlas, and the ghosts of her past. This would be her chance to be a major plot focus in and of herself, even as she a supporting character until then. Weiss's house would be a warzone between human and faunus ghosts, and Weiss would be struggling to survive and make sense of what was happening. Jaune's presence, infrequent as it is, would be key to surviving and clearing the mansion and ultimately meeting the angles of Atlas. That's about as far as that planning got, except that Weiss trying to survive the haunted mansion would be a major stressor for Jaune.

Back to the main story, Weiss's other main plot was her personal relationship with Jaune. Weiss- who swallowed a bit of Jaune during initiation when Yang flicked guts at her- becomes the first person to have a Jaune Dream, before they realize Jaune could do such a thing. Jaune falls into a raunchy dream in which Weiss, not realizing it's the real Jaune, promptly dominates him and tells him to shut up and put his mouth to better use. Weiss takes Jaune's dream-virginity as a form of fantasy stress-relief, but shows a softer side afterwards when- at the end- she asks Jaune to stay and cuddle. Weiss wakes up after falling asleep in her dream, and becomes the first victim of the ongoing early morning dirty sheets joke.

The incident becomes an embarrassing secret between them afterwards once Jaune's dream hopping is shared amongst the friends. Aside from taking his dream-virginity, Weiss is the unacknowledged second spirit-spouse for Jaune after Ruby, and the first to do so with a catalyst. The ritual of ancient faunus covens for spirit-marriage was to eat of the dead and sleep with them. Weiss ate of his body when Yang flicked guts in her mouth during initiation, which is what allowed her to share dreams with him, and sleeping with the dead is what creates the spirit-marriage. Dream-sex isn't required, but definitely cements it. Because Weiss is the only one everyone knows ate of Jaune, Weiss becomes the butt of all cannibalism jokes while Blake gets off scott-free. Weiss makes the most vocal protests to the idea of spirit marriages later whenever they're brought up, like after Yang's crisis.

Weiss is among those who believes the worst of Jaune during the Cardin incident, afraid he's holding the dream over her as blackmail and not believing Jaune's protests to the contrary, but Blake's confession of her own secret prompts Weiss to believe in Jaune as well. Afterwards, Jaune and Weiss's relationship normalizes, and carries on mostly in her dreams where Weiss is less restrained in how she acts. Jaune becomes a regular audience to her suppressed thoughts and her desires, though after the first incident (what Weiss calls the 'mistake') Weiss never does anything improper with the real ghost Jaune, though it's implied/insinuated she does have some more dirty dreams of purely dream Jaune.

Weiss bristles and resists the idea of 'spirit marriage' from the start. Instead Weiss finds a friend in Jaune, as Jaune listens when Weiss wants to rant, weathers her stormy rages, and gives her some support when she's feeling down and being hard on herself. Jaune doesn't judge, doesn't hold her acerbic nature against her, and most of all doesn't tell, and so gradually becomes her confidant.

This cements itself during the lead-up to the Dance, when Weiss sees and falls for Neptune. In her dreams Weiss wants him bad, as Jaune can attest, but in public she tries to be prim and proper and so gets ignored. Jaune takes a role in trying to encourage her to outright confess, and when that fails Jaune tries to spook Neptune into it. It backfires, with Neptune spooked away from Weiss instead, and his rejection is excessively cruel because of not only his belief in the 'Weiss killed Jaune,' but in the general outsider creepiness of the coven of friends in general- talking with dead people, walking around with Jaune's bones, and so on.

Jaune can't fix it by telling Neptune the truth or to man up, and so- trying to fulfill Weiss's dream (figurative and literal) of a romantic dance that could lead to a passionate evening- Jaune ends up knocking out Neptune with a possessed item and using a good deal of aura to forcibly keep Neptune in a state of lucid dreaming. With Neptune watching as Jaune controls his body, 'Neptune' returns, invites Weiss to a dance, and gives her the dance of her dreams. 'Neptune' explains away 'his' change of mind, saying that Jaune explained everything in a dream. 'Neptune' leans into a kiss, with Jaune relinquishing control to a more than willing Neptune- until Weiss pushes away, and leaves a befuddled Neptune behind.

That night, in her dreams, Jaune enters and asks what Neptune did wrong. Weiss denies he did anything wrong, only that he wasn't what- who- she wanted. Jaune takes it as Weiss realizing he was in control, but Weiss puts it differently. Neptune was a crush- but not the man of her dreams, and not the one who'd (ful)fill her dream. Jaune is lost and confused, until Weiss tells him to stop talking and dance with her. Weiss and Jaune dance in her dreams, like she had with Neptune earlier and like she had in her dreams before that. As the dream becomes more and more exclusive, everyone else fades away, and Jaune eventually asks if this is what she wanted. Weiss says he's not… but that he's not a mistake either. Controlling her dreamscape, Weiss brings them to her (empty) room. When Jaune begins to ask why, Weiss tells him to shut up and put his mouth to better use, a call-back to their first dream together. Weiss pushes Jaune down into her bed, and the dream fades to black.

Weiss wakes up early the next morning to knowing looks from Blake and Yang and first shot at doing laundry.

From then on Weiss no longer protests the idea of spirit marriage, and is even occasionally nice to Jaune in public, in a tsundere-ish sort of way. Weiss becomes one of the most eager proponents for trying to find Jaune a new body, and takes an active leadership role in the coven. It's Weiss who ultimately organizes the time-sharing schedule for who Jaune is supposed to visit each night to draw aura from. Nominally it's so that no one is overtaxed in loaning aura to Jaune, but in truth…

Seven members of the coven, seven days in a week, and one of those nights Weiss is changing her sheets.

(Weiss, and Team RWBY as a whole, gets a slightly unfair reputation as a team of bed-wetters.)

After Season 3, Weiss is taken back home by her father. The Schnee Mansion is a war zone between ghosts on both sides of the human-faunus conflict, while her father is clearly under malign ghostly influence. While trying to survive, Weiss needs to uncover the cause of the conflict, with weekly Jaune summons being the key to moving around the haunted mansion where Jaune's ghost-skills are key to getting into locked rooms and dealing with murderous ghosts. As they go through the house, clearing ghosts, Weiss's childhood is revealed- including a formerly close relationship with her father, the tragic (ghost-caused) death of her mother, and her father's sudden change of personality and distance between him and his daughters that eventually drove Weiss to go to Beacon. Throughout the arc, there's evidence of another ghost at work- protecting Weiss when Jaune isn't around- but when Jaune sees her it's a female spirit in great pain, and who doesn't stay for long. The culmination of the arc- at the same time as the Blake and Ren arc culminations- is breaking into a Forbidden Basement that President Schnee has tried to keep Weiss away from all this time.

The basement is the Schnee family crypt, and inside is the spirit responsible for attracting so many ghosts to the Schnees- a Devil. The first Devil the heroes meet, the Devil is responsible for bringing the ghosts to curse President Schnee, and is even desecrating the body of Weiss's dead mother in order to affect President Schnee. President Schnee spirit-married his wife after her death, who had been a guardian spirit for Weiss and Winter in the good years, but the Devil captured Miss Schnee and used her spirit-marriage link to affect President Schnee as well, driving him into to escalate the war with the White Fang and faunus to cause more misery in general. Weiss and Jaune have to defeat the devil who is orchestrating the curses on President Schnee, and free Weiss's mother.

Beyond the Devil, Weiss and Jaune find a sealed passage to the Angels of Atlas, who are able to help Weiss's mother's spirit (who was an angel before being caught and tortured), who can help protect President Schnee. The Angels and their Genesis Pool could provide a homunculi body for Jaune to live- but at the time Jaune and Weiss can't afford the time it would take to do so, and the Angels aren't yet willing to give Jaune a new body either. Jaune has to leave immediately to help Blake and Ren, and Weiss is given a task or quest of some sort before the angels are willing to give Jaune a body. The quest would entail stopping the Devils, who have ties to Cinder, and require Weiss to leave and rejoin the Coven.

Weiss's haunted-house crisis would end in Season 4, with the Angels able to protect Papa Schnee from further danger and Weiss reconciling with her now-sane father. Despite his desire to protect her and keep her at home and safe, Weiss returns to the Coven, though with a much lighter heart now that her Father is as she once knew him- not a perfect man, but a better one, and one on the side of angels and willing to change . Weiss has a week at home before her next turn to summon Jaune and learn where to go, and spends it reconciling, before heading back into the world to rejoin Ruby. Weiss leaves on a cruise ship/airship, waving goodbye to her father with Jaune over her shoulder and Weiss's mother over her father's shoulder. It's a happy farewell and a chance for a romantic day alone on a cruise with Jaune… with Weiss not knowing that her father and Mother already know of the spirit-marriage between her and Jaune. Papa and Mama Schnee approve, or at least accept it… and have threatened Jaune with a fate _worse_ than death should he hurt Weiss. Weiss's Mom may be an angel, but that doesn't mean she won't bring the wrath of heaven down on Jaune if he misbehaves… though it goes the other way around as well. Weiss may be the daughter of an angel, but she's a little devilish in her dreams as well. Weiss and Jaune enjoy a peaceful day on the cruise together, as Jaune can finally relax after a hectic finale of crisis.

They spend it sleeping.

Beyond Season 4, there wasn't much in mind for Weiss specifically. Schnee Dust Corporation changes once President Schnee's sanity is restored, adopting a… not necessarily 'benevolent' line, but a willingness to compromise with peaceful faunus groups. SDC also offers the Coven assistance in the hunt for Cinder and the Devils. When Atlas gets entangled in a plot concept of creating a golem army of the newly returned ghosts to fight Grimm, SDC gets in on the action, providing golems to the Kingdom of Angels, to form an Angel Army. The Army of Angels- with Penny-bot technology- would be an big endgame force.

Weiss, though… it'd mostly be her entwined character plot with Jaune about self-expression of her desires, admitting what she wants even when it's not 'proper.' That comes mostly in the context of her relationship with Jaune- something she keeps tightly held and private, but believes she'll have to give up in favor of Yang/Ruby/the general impropriety of having such a ghostly affair, especially when she'll one day be expected to carry on the family legacy. She'll have to produce an heir if she wants to keep the company inside the family, and not just a weapon spirit either. Which, as long as Jaune is a ghost…

Weiss's coven name is Sister Screamer. The name has multiple reasons- one that everyone wishes they hadn't heard, and another that her team wishes they hadn't heard when they were trying to sleep. Over time Weiss tries to give herself the name of Weiss WiseWitch, a pun Yang refuses to use.

Weiss's Jaune relic is a pair of bone earrings. When Weiss is wearing them she gains a limited ghost-hearing sense and can hear Jaune's voice as faint and intimate whispers, as if he's leaning over her shoulder and whispering into her ear from behind. If Jaune possesses one of the earrings, he can hear _Weiss_ 's thoughts, like a one-way telepathy.

Weiss's relationship with Jaune is a 'Secret Keeper' dynamic. It's something that starts as an embarrassing mistake, but Jaune keeping the secret of how he lost his virginity gradually leads to Weiss trusting Jaune with more. Weiss's dreams are where Weiss lets down her hair and is unrestrained- an embarrassing (and comedic) difference of persona once she's no longer exercising self-control and can vent or express her true opinions without fear of rebuke or hurting anyone else's feelings. Unlike Blake, whom Jaune convinces to share her secrets openly within the Coven, Jaune keeps Weiss's secrets hidden, allowing her to express herself more healthily in private. Jaune's patience and discretion in helping Weiss express herself, and supporting the desires she can't say aloud, bring them closer. Jaune's efforts with Neptune in particular- who rejected Weiss's interest both in terms of her and her friends- marks the moment of a significant shift. Jaune goes from 'confidant' to 'safe outlet for desires,' and growing from there.

Weiss's relationship with Jaune from then is 'fond' and 'intimate,' but not quite 'love.' While the informal rules of the Coven are that what happens in Jaune Dreams stays in Jaune Dreams, Yang's open interest in Jaune outside of the Jaune Dreams tempers Weiss. Weiss doesn't want drama within the team, Weiss doesn't want to tarnish their public reputation, Weiss doesn't want a fruitless relationship… but she does want Jaune, at least some times, and so Jaune and Weiss's ghostly affair is a private, secretive thing. Blake and Yang know of the Jaune Dreams, but not Weiss's real feelings, which grow. It's the one secret Weiss tries to keep from Jaune, even if the pent-up tension is expressed within the dreams. By the end of the Schnee Mansion arc, with Jaune helping her face her past and save her parents souls, Weiss's feelings are real, even if not yet open. Weiss will only admit her feelings once the Coven becomes a polyamory, after which her next character arc would be accepting and coming to terms with her desire to be a part of it.

Weiss's position for Jaune's long-term state, as with most of Team RWBY, is to give Jaune a body so that he can live. Weiss becomes very interested in the homunculus option- both because it would give Jaune a 'real' body, but also because it would let him have a 'real' family and living children one day. With who… well, that's unsaid.

/

Blake

Another normal person without ghost senses. Blake's didn't grow up with ghosts, but she has a ghost connection through her heritage and via the White Fang's taboo rituals that they started since she left.

Blake's primary comedy trait is her acquired appetite for Jaune's meat, a taste she ends up sharing with her team. This man-eater may or may not descend from the clans of faunus shamans who pioneered the practice of spirit marriage through ritual cannibalism, but she is the one to find the lore and hide the 'how.' The reason why Jaune falls into peoples dreams is a mystery to everyone but Blake, who gets a number of comedic sequences when the catalyst falls to other people. Weiss had guts flicked into her mouth by Yang, but other members of the sisterhood were… less deliberate, early on during the pre-Cardin segment. Yang steals some without asking, Blake misplaces hers with Nora's hand-made beef jerky, and so on. All are treated for comedy. After the Cardin incident Blake has to get rid of the rest of her stash, decides to make them all guilty, and hosts a BBQ after Jaune's funeral.

After Jaune's meat is gone, Blake's craving are a regular joke no one in-story catches, and the basis of Blake's physical attraction to Sun's hunk of abs. No one knows Blake (or anyone else) is a cannibal, but she has a tendency towards biting and staring at muscle. Blake's cravings get satisfied with her personal Jaune artifact.

In terms of plot, aside from taking the meat off Jaune's bones before Cardin can defile them, Blake's earliest relevance is being among first people whose dreams Jaune falls into. After his experience with Weiss, Jaune soon falls into one of Blake's dreams, where he learns that she is a faunus. Jaune keeps Blake's dream, race, and risqué fantasy a secret.

Jaune keeping her secret rather than spread it across the school is what tips Blake off that it's not Jaune spreading Ruby's secret during the Cardin arc. Blake standing up for Jaune, even to the point of revealing her race, means a lot to Jaune, who vows to return the favor. After (re)staring off as better friends, the friendship escalates a bit quicker than others when Jaune sees a side of Blake neither of them ever intended- the inside.

Not only does Jaune fall into Blake's Ninjas of Love dreams, but in one of his experiments with electronics Jaune accidentally ends up being trapped in one of Blake's private toys… before she uses it. Much fun, and embarrassment, was hidden from others. Between her private hobby and her faunus past, Blake (not entirely intentionally) builds a rapport with Jaune based on trust and discretion. Jaune stands by Blake throughout the docks incident, which culminates in Blake letting Jaune a little closer as an active participant her dirtier dreams.

Blake approaches her 'relationship' with Jaune not as lovers but as a 'friends with benefits' sort of deal. Jaune's a friend she trusts, she gives a bit of aura for him to stay alive, and in return she gets some risk-free fun in her dreams. It's stress relief that means nothing, really. There's no downside, except the occasional change of sheets and knowing looks and maybe not being strictly 'friends only' after all. But, at the very least, no chance for pregnancy, right?

Blake and Sun make for an almost-not-quite love triangle when physical attraction in the flesh has to compete with the other part of Blake's mind. Sun's initially attracted, and Blake considers him an attractive hunk of ribs with aside of nice thighs and delicious abs with a head on top, and while Jaune doesn't understand that he does approve of Sun and encourage Blake to consider it. Jaune's needling/encouragement, and sharing with Ruby that Blake finds Sun hot, gets Blake to be a bit more expressive than she normally would be as she seriously considers Suns advances much earlier, albeit on a more casual level. Since dealing with her faunus heritage and White Fang past were easier than she feared, Blake is more comfortable opening up faster and is willing to dabble with Sun.

But while Sun's someone Blake can fantasize over, Jaune's the one who enters her dreams during said fantasies. Blake is someone who has desires, but is also hesitant about letting a relationship develop… complications, which is why she enjoys her dream-relationship with Jaune. Sun, while treated mostly sympathetically, gets a bit weirded out at not automatically winning an almost-triangle with a dead guy. It brings up the awkward question of not only why isn't he winning by default, but also why he's trying to woo a girl sleeping (sorta) with a dead guy (sorta) and who looks at him like a hunk of meat rather than meeting his eyes. Sun tries to persevere, and gets pretty far during Season 2 as Blake's date to the Dance, but Blake's acquired taste drives him off when she gives a hickie that draws blood. Sun is creeped out, backs off, and Blake is officially a cute but creepy coven girl from then on.

Blake's more serious plot deals with the White Fang and their use of mad faunus ghosts. Blake initially believes that the ghosts the White Fang uses are victims of SDC- tragic but natural victims- but the investigation reveals that this isn't true. The White Fang defiling the bodies of the dead to turn normal faunus into weaponized ghosts is a betrayal of everything they should stand for, and after Cardin's demonstration of doing so on Jaune Blake is committed to stopping the White Fang. In Season 3 there would even be a faunus ghost character who Blake, Jaune, and the others do their best to save from the White Fang, though that 'innocent' is probably doomed.

At the end of Season 3, during the crisis-climax, Blake ultimately 'betrays' her friends to join the White Fang at Adam's invitation. Nominally a betrayal, Jaune doesn't believe it and chases after Blake during the night of Summer's kidnapping to understand why. Thanks to ghost powers and the part of his body Blake holds, Jaune is able to reach Blake and enter her dream to discover that she's doing it to go undercover within the White Fang and find out more about the ghosts and how to stop the desecrations.

Season 4 would be Blake being a double-agent, even as she's forced to resume her relationship with Adam as part of her cover, even as she finds relief in Jaune's weekly hauntings and Jaune Dreams. Pregnancy would come up as a result, and be a key part of Blake's character plot. Adam is an insecure/possessive boyfriend, and the question of parentage creates tension.

Adam brings in a witch with a semblance who can see the future child- this witch also the same witch or part of the coven allowing the White Fang to use ghosts- who he uses to check on Blake and the baby's health. This viewing creates drama when 'Adam's' child is discovered to have blonde hair instead of red or black… even though Blake knows that she never actually slept with Sun. Adam would go crazy- possibly being under a ghost's curse, but also jealous- viewing Blake's pregnancy as a betrayal. Adam then does the only rational thing- locking Blake up in her room- before trying to figure out how to 'fix' the problem.

(What actually occurs is that Blake's weapon spirit, conceived with Jaune, transitions into the baby conceived with Adam. The weapon spirit overpowers Adam's influence from the start.)

Remembering the stellar quality and good taste of a story that spent its first few chapters brutally splattering body parts, the likely angle for Blake's pregnancy and Adam's plans to 'fix' it would have been an involuntary abortion.

Souls who die before they are born Unborn- the spirit of an unborn child who never had a chance to live. Unborn created by abortion are the Unwanted- _angry_ ghosts who blame their parents for not getting to live. Blake's life would have been in danger of her own child, even as she lost trust and would be locked away by Adam. Normally Unborn die fast, not having the residual aura reserves to exist, but Blake is in a spirit marriage with Jaune, and family has rights to the Arc family aura reserves…

Blake's forced abortion is probably the most genuinely traumatic events in the story, both in execution and how it literally comes to haunt her. Though Blake worried about a physical relationship and becoming pregnant, and was very uncertain of what she felt about it, she wasn't sure what she would do. Adam forcing that decision on her to 'fix' the problem, because he 'loves' her and wants to spare her the burden of someone else's child, leaves her scarred- especially when the spirit begins haunting her nightmares.

Dealing with the Unwanted, helping Blake cope with the trauma of events, and helping her escape Adam would have been the key parts of the White Fang arc for Blake and Jaune. Blake's arc is the most dangerous/tense of them all, the core driver of Jaune's stress vis-à-vis other partners, as Blake is under the captivity of an unstable Adam, the White Fang, and the White Fang's witch-coven that is destabilizing ghosts and honing in on Blake's spirit-marriage. Trying to figure out how to help Blake escape becomes one of Jaune's biggest priorities, and a distraction from other character plots- especially since he generally only spends one day a week with Blake, as the whole 'taking turns' summoning Jaune thing means each member of the Coven summons Jaune one day of the week. This means Blake is on her own at times, dependent on Adam and the witches' protection from the Unborn, which worries Jaune extremely.

By the end the child-ghost would be saved, pacified when Blake convinces it that she didn't have the abortion willingly and when Jaune promises to give it a body to live in. The Unwanted turns its wrath on Adam, helps Blake escape with Jaune, and then accompanies them… somehow. I'm not quite clear, and hadn't decided, but Salem would have been involved to save her Grandchild. With something that probably entails Blake following a quasi-satanic ritual prescribed by Salem and riding out of there on a Nevermore, Jaune and Blake and the ghost-child make it to Salem, who can guarantee its survival by giving it the homunculi body she recently conceived to help Jaune. This does mean that Jaune's humunuli body from his mother is put off by at least another nine months, but a promise is a promise and Salem always did want grandkids, even if she didn't expect to bear them herself.

(If that was too complicated- Blake and Jaune's conceived weapon spirit takes over the body of Blake and Adam's conceived child before a soul can form, making it 'his' body. When Adam finds out, he forces Blake to abort it. That turns the weapon spirit into an Unwanted, which because it had a body can't go back to being a weapon spirit. Blake and Jaune turn the Unwanted's wrath towards Adam by placating it and promising it a new body. That body is a homunculus conceived by Salem for Jaune, even if Salem is tainted with Grimm powers of darkness and all but guaranteed to grow into a creepy child who, because the body was meant for Jaune and the spirit is already self-aware, will already have a developed mind upon birth.

But- yes- this means that Salem will give birth to Jaune's child, conceived by Blake and Adam, thus making Jaune's son his brother while making Blake an aunt to Jaune's sisters and her own child in a-

Let's put it this way- this was deliberately intended to be convoluted as hell, so that it'd make no sense and trying to fit the Coven into some 'sensible' arrangement would be impossible. The Coven, the story, and the romance plots work together because they're too convoluted to try and fit in 'normal' relationships, and so the characters involved give up on normality and just go with their internal logic.)

With Blake rescued and the ghost-child safe, Jaune has to leave to help Ren arrange a jail-break, the last of his three-part tour de arc of helping Weiss than Blake then Ren all in a row. Jaune leaves a worn but relieved Blake with his mother, who has some sympathy over Blake's recent boyfriend ordeal… and makes very pointed suggestions about how nice a boy Jaune is and how Blake could do so much worse than him. Blake agrees, but flinches, and Salem gently promises to teach her some ghost rituals before she leaves. A dowry, if you would.

Blake trains under Salem as she recovers, and leaves to rejoin the Coven some time later. Blake's experience with Adam, traumatic as it was, changes her- she's a bit more reclusive, having been hurt again, quite a bit less interested in a living relationship, and she even develops a slight fear of men that she has to overcome. She's been hurt… but she survives, and in some ways has become stronger and a committed witch of the coven. Blake is the first to wear the title of 'witch' openly, without shame, and has even been given books by Salem to study. Even though Blake is pushed away from guys and towards girls for awhile, Salem provides mother(-in-law)ly mentorship to help her find a solace in the bonds of spirit-marriage, and a thirst for revenge. Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other, but Salem does help Blake work her phobia of men by sharing a spell to turn Jaune female in the dreamscape.

Blake (with Salem providing some motherly mentorship along the way) takes her role as a spirit-wife very seriously indeed, and even happily at times.

Beyond Season 4, which was Blake-heavy, Blake's primary character arc is recovering from the trauma from Adam. She does so with the help of her Sisters of the Coven, and a healthier, more emotional relationship with Jaune. Blake's trauma and modest fear of men is something she tries to overcome with Jaune, but it creates a barrier to their previous dream relationship, even with the gender-change spell for Blake's ease of mind.

There's less sex, more emotional support, and rather than resume the friends-with-benefits bilateral dynamic that Blake finds secure and familiar, Jaune pushes Blake to open up to the rest of the coven about her ordeal. Ultimately it's the trust that Blake will be able to rely on the Coven- Jaune and Sisters all - that helps Blake start to heal from the trauma inflicted by Adam. When the Coven agrees to help her raise her child after it's born by Salem, from Weiss volunteering financial support to Nora offering babysitting, Blake is able to overcome. Blake's child, and the commitment of the Coven to raise it together if need be, and the intent to keep together over the long term is the catalyst that really turns the Coven from 'a group of friends make-pretending to be married to a ghost as a joke' to something more committed, more serious, and real. Blake's healing is what turns a series of bilateral relationships into a multilateral polyamory- and not just because Blake's straying from men makes her look at her sister-wives differently either.

Blake's primary story arc is the reoccurring skirmishes with the White Fang. Adam's coven of witches inciting ghosts into madness has to be stopped, but Blake is out for revenge to. Blake couldn't do it on her own, and so it becomes a Coven mission, though when that would happen wasn't even on the planning horizon.

One thing's for sure, though- Blake has a habit of pushing good taste. Don't ask what happens with the baby's remains. Or what Blake will do to Adam when she catches him.

Blake's Coven name is Sister Jinx, after Jinx the Black Cat.

Blake's Jaune-relic is a chopstick set, made of Jaune's bones. Including a soup spoon for good measure, the dining set has the curious trait to make anything taste like Jaune. They also allows Blake to consume residual aura. Not ghosts- not like a ghost eater- but any residual aura on physical things… or bodies. Any residual aura Blake consumes can be passed onto Jaune.

Blake's stance on Jaune's fate is that living is better than not living, and so she's all for helping him get a body if possible. Once the friends-with-benefit relationship started, she favored the Jaune-bod robot idea. After the trauma with Adam, however, Blake is afraid of physical relationships with men, and so moves closer to Ruby's position of preferring if Jaune just stayed a ghost for awhile longer.

Blake's relationship with Jaune has been covered a bit, but to hit the main emotional points again- Jaune and Blake get close due to Jaune's discretion about Blake's race, Blake's dreams, and a naughty accident early on involving Jaune, a vibrator, and an unwitting participant. Unlike Weiss, with whom Jaune keeps her secrets, Jaune's relationship with Blake is about pushing her to share her secrets with others- race, past, and more. After building trust, Jaune and Blake enter a friends-with-benefits but non-committed relationship after the dock. Because it's only limited to dreams, and nothing more, Jaune pushes Blake to be more outgoing, including encouraging her towards to a casual relationship with Sun. Blake's biggest hitch-up with 'physical' relationships is a fear of being hitched with consequences and complications. Blake fears a repeat of her childhood- of a single-mother stuck with a child. Blake prefers ghost-friends-with-benefits with Jaune Dreams because it's safe, discrete, and consequence free (or so they think). When Sun looses interest after being creeped out by the Coven by the period of the Dance, Blake is okay and even a bit relieved… until the reveal of ghost pregnancy, when she gets skittish and has the most concern about Ruby and the most questions about raising the ghost-children that come after. Blake 'defects' without answers, but Jaune chasing her provides emotional relief.

Blake's relationship with Jaune becomes more emotionally-driven during the Adam ordeal. Blake starts strong and brave despite being in over her head, but the advent of real pregnancy shakes her. Jaune tries to support, but he's limited to one day a week. Blake's being shaken becomes trauma when Adam finds that the child isn't 'his,' locks Blake away, and forces an abortion. Blake and Jaune become emotionally close in the aftermath, as Jaune worries about Blake most of all-especially with the ghost of the Unwanted trying to kill her. Blake's climax is as much a rescue as an escape, with Blake surviving with her child but being traumatized by the forced abortion. Blake heals through the Sisterhood of the coven, and is the first to embrace the polyamours aspects of it.

Blake is the first bisexual to get attention as such. While she leans more towards men, after Adam she has a phase of drawing towards the other phase. Blake's openness to bisexuality, and her friends, would get a reoccurring joke of 'in your dreams, Blake'- which, of course, is exactly where it would happen. Once the Coven rejoins, finding themselves in three-way dreams with Blake and Jaune becomes the new running dream joke. First on the platter, though, would likely be Yang and/or Weiss: Jaune possessing Yang's body offers so many possibilities to help with Blake's acquired phobia, while Weiss's dreams are all about repressed improprieties anyway…

/

Yang

Yang is yet another 'normal' person with no ghost sense, despite Ruby's gifts. Yang eventually the only member of the coven who gets to become a ghost herself, with Jaune's assistance, due a secret not even she knows about herself.

Growing up, Yang didn't believe in ghosts. After the loss of Summer, when they were really, really young, Yang was among those who didn't believe Ruby about hearing Summer's voice. Yang wasn't cruel, but didn't believe in her, and so ended up not being there for Ruby when Ruby broke and inadvertently banished Summer. From then on Yang did her best to protect Ruby from bullies who belittled her 'imaginary' friends, even if she didn't really believe herself.

Yang didn't really believe, but didn't totally disbelieve either. Yang couldn't sense ghosts, but she has an open mind because of a history of lucky 'chances' or odd events that worked in her favor- like times when something precariously balanced stabilized rather than fell on her, or when small objects moved/were found without anyone remembering moving them. These were little gestures from Summer, who tried to keep looking out for her family.

Come the plot, Yang's role is broadly to parallel Ruby's relationship with Jaune and then escalate. When things are good early on pre-Cardin, Yang is the third RWBY dirty dream that Jaune falls into, and ultimately the one that reveals to the group Jaune's 'fall into dreams' thing after the Weiss and Blake dreams are kept secret. When Jaune is framed for belittling Ruby, Yang is hotly against Jaune, supporting her sister until it becomes clear that something is amuck. In the general post-Cardin make-up, Yang shares with Jaune her experience with Ruby's difficult childhood as part of their friendly make-up.

Yang gets a significant mini-arc post-Cardin that gives her one of her own unique plot angles- her ability to have an out-of-body experience and become a ghost if possessed while berserk. When Yang is berserk, her soul has a loose grip on her body that no longer has self-control, and if Jaune possesses her then Yang 'pops out' as a ghost. When she is a ghost, Yang has full ghost senses, just like Jaune- she can see/feel/hear/touch/taste Jaune (or other ghosts). Unlike Jaune, who has ample residual aura reserves, Yang has almost none because her body is still alive.

The first time this is discovered, the plot of the arc is Yang having fun being a ghost and refusing to go back into her body. Leaving Jaune to deal with living as her, Yang goes on her own immature/consequence-free ghost spree- claiming it's to let Jaune live a little, but mostly letting her goof off and act the mischievous/perverted ghost angle. (Including a scene where ghost-Yang slips into the boys lockerroom… and emerges face-to-face with Ren, causing a comedy of errors as Ren starts talking, Ruby hears half of the conversation through the wall, and Nora ends up breaking down the wall separating the changing rooms.) Yang is repeating the same sort of consequence-free ghosting that Jaune did early on, which seems to be a normal thing for ghosts, even as Jaune and the others try to convince her to stop and return to her own body.

Yang's lack of residual aura reserves becomes the problem when Yang's body is lost. Jaune leaves the body to chase Yang down and try and bring her back, but without a soul controlling it Yang's body acts like a simple, instinct-driven animal (ergo, no different from the usual says Weiss), and wanders off to comedic/scary hijinks. The berserk-without-being-berserk soulless Yang acts like an animal, and so after it does some comedic things it's found by unscrupulous guys- like the rest of Team CRDL- with ignoble intentions. The friends looking for it is cast as a race-against-time rescue against a possible revenge rape… until they find that soul-less Yang is still as strong as Berserk Yang, and pulverized the rest of Team CRDL with ease.

The time it takes to find Yang's body again, however, takes Yang into critical aura deprivation levels. To save Yang's soul, Jaune shares his own residual aura reserves, even though it requires the first official/nearly explicit spirit marriage to 'bring Yang into the family.' From then on Yang can also draw from the Arc Residual Aura reserves when she's a ghost, though she tries not to so as to not shorten Jaune's after-life span. Yang starts to train her own ghost abilities as well, allowing her to help out against White Fang ghosts. By the tournament in Season 3, Yang is able to create a dual combo-attack where Yang's berserk form is triggered, but then Yang herself exits and possesses her gauntlets in order to double-team her opponents with her berserk form and her body-less punches. It takes a lot of practice to do- and to learn how to direct her form- but it's a potent thing when done right.

After Yang's near after-death, Yang and her relationship with Jaune becomes mature. Initially starting as 'thank you' dream sex, it escalates when the two find they can fool around as ghosts. Yang pushes Jaune into more private fun, in dreams and out. Because of how her spirit-marriage bond formed, though, Yang's Jaune Dreams typically have marriage undertones, even as Yang embraces ghost-sex as a consequence-free alternative to the real thing. Yang's free-spirited (and body-free) fun with Jaune claims to be friends-with-benefits like Blake, but Yang is a lot less convincing.

Yang is the only member of the coven who indicates jealousy over how Jaune spends his nights and wants more of them to herself, though she tries not to let it show. The way the Jaune Dreams gradually started means there's no expectation of exclusivity about who Jaune spends nights with, especially since most of them are platonic friend time with his team and with whom he couldn't talk to otherwise. Jaune and Yang's ghost-relationship is open, as all the spirit-marriages are, and like Blake, it's treated as a 'not really real' thing. Yang could go off and get a 'real' boyfriend at any time she wanted. She just… doesn't care to.

In Season 2 Yang gets flustered when she's caught daydreaming, is hotly protective against the slightest threats of Exorcists, and sighs a lot without meaning to. During the Dance arc Yang goes by herself in a white quasi-wedding dress, and sits alone the entire night as if waiting to be asked to dance. It's that night- after seeing 'Neptune' dance with Weiss and Jaune skip a Jaune Dream invitation with her because he's worried about Weiss- that Yang admits to herself that she likes Jaune more than she admitted in the lead-up. After the Breach, and the Breach-arc's Meaningful Question from Oobleck about what they see Jaune being in a few years, Yang ends the Breach cool-down by directly asking Jaune out, just the two of them.

At the same time, though, Yang clearly values/desires commitment. Yang has her lingering issues with how her mother abandoned her and her father as soon as she was born, and how things with Summer were ambiguous because Summer wasn't married to Taiyang and wouldn't call herself Yang's mother when asked. As flippant and flirtatious as Yang is, Yang doesn't want a half-hearted relationship. Yang wants certainty… but she doesn't say this to Jaune, and doesn't admit it, and so Jaune thinks Yang is a lot less serious than she is.

Despite the troubles, Yang's interest in Jaune steadily rises over the course of the seasons. It starts as friendly friends, Cardin crisis excepted. It ignites with gratitude-ghost-sex after the spirit marriage. It's fueled by the ghost-to-ghost connection they have as Yang escapes her body, and their team-work to fight ghost-vs-ghost against the White Fang wraiths. Yang admits her interest for more to herself after the Dance, and during the 'what do you want to do with your life' question from Oobleck, which leads to Yang going official in her open relationship with Jaune. Emotional interest becomes entrenched when Jaune finds Summer, and solidifies once Jaune gives up his chance at a life-sustaining body for Summer. By the end of Season 3, Yang wants something committed, even as the Coven breaks up.

Yang's relationship with Jaune is the first that becomes open-knowledge and 'official' after Yang asks Jaune out after the Breach. Rumors spread and words get out, enough that her father Taiyang and Uncle Qrow visit in Season 2.5 after hearing dark rumors about Yang and Ruby and Jaune. Where Ruby denies there's anything special/romantic between her and Jaune, Yang doesn't, and so has to deal with a father's concern for his necrophiliac daughter. Yang's necrophilia is the running joke of her relationship with Jaune, especially given how much of it is ghost-on-ghost. Taiyang and Qrow's attempts at intimidation fail comically, even as Yang taunts them by having all manner of dirty ghost shenanigans over them. The climax/acceptance point would occur when Yang- again- loses track of her body, which goes out and gets lost. There's a search, but also a competitor when Raven gets involved- Raven stumbles across Yang's body by chance, recognizes that she's soulless, and chides her as wasting the body. Raven takes Yang away, placing her in a secure room while Raven finishes some other business, and implicitly intends to take her away. It's only because Jaune finds Yang's body- thanks to Yang's relic of him he can track- that Jaune is able to possess Yang's body himself and lead an escape. Raven's recognition of a soul-less Yang is foreshadowing that isn't picked up on, but Jaune gets on Taiyang and Qrow's good sides by recovering Yang's body and looking out for her. Jaune doing the right things and saying the right things (from Yang's body) persuade Taiyang and Qrow to drop their objections. What Jaune specifically says- that even if Yang hadn't had his relic, he still would have kept looking for her until he found her, no matter how long it took- endears him to Yang in particular. She'll reward him later, but Taiyang and Qrow leave with two foreshadowing-in-restrospect comments: Taiyang tears up a bit at Yang's safe return and good relationship, saying he never imagined she'd grow up so much, while Qrow has a bit more ominous aside to Jaune in that Jaune's commitment to recovering Yang reminds him of her mother.

From then on Yang and Jaune's relationship is official, if somewhat open within the Coven. Yang doesn't try to shut down Blake or Weiss's Jaune Dreams, but Yang does try to get more out-of-dream time by going ghost herself more often. The limiting factor in their relationship is, ahem, a lack of communication, as Yang can only perceive Jaune in the dreams or as a ghost herself. When Salem arrives to find Jaune, there's a comedic angle where Yang frets about meeting Jaune's mother, but they end up getting along famously as soon as the word 'girlfriend' is mentioned. Salem slide right into a mother-in-law role, with Yang even jokingly asking if she should call Salem 'Mother' (answer: yes), and otherwise getting alone well. There's the uptic in jealousy and anger when Ruby's phantom pregnancy is revealed- and a bit more when Jaune has to claim Phyrra is his fiancé to spare her Salem's wrath- but it's all made up for when Jaune shows Yang an apology present- the ghost of Summer.

Summer's ghost becomes a significant thing, but also something that Jaune and Yang try to keep a secret as they try to make sense of it. Summer and Yang reunite fondly, but they can't reunite with Ruby because of Ruby's Seer-ability Rebuke as a child. Summer admits to being responsible for some of Yang's ghost-suspicions from her childhood- protecting from mischance and accidents- but denies being responsible for some others, like lost toys being found. Summer has more to say, but is too weak to say it and Yang doesn't want to get distracted. Summer is recovering residual aura thanks to Jaune bringing it from Ruby's cloak, but she also can't approach Ruby herself, and she's reluctant to try and force the issue. Ruby already suspects she banished her mother, but if she knew for sure it would hurt her. Jaune and Yang work on a solution, with Yang guiding Ruby into revoking the rebuke, and ultimately Jaune and Yang are able to reunite Summer, and Ruby, and then Taiyang as well. Reuniting the family is an emotional sweetspot for everyone, but also builds Jaune and Yang's relationship. Taiyang goes from tolerance to approval, Summer thinks well of Jaune for making Yang and Ruby happy and reuniting her with Taiyang. Summer's and Yang have a mother-daughter ghost-ghost bonding session, with Summer talking to Yang and advising her to be clear in her intentions to Jaune. Summer wasn't when she, Taiyang, and Raven were in a love triangle… though Summer doesn't consider it a mistake, as it ended up giving her Yang. Yang takes the point that she needs to make things clear if she doesn't want to end up losing Jaune, and intends to make things exclusive when Jaune gets his body at the end of the tournament.

During the finale, when Jaune is trying to save Summer from getting trapped inside the Lantern, Yang is able to exercise her ghost abilities to exit her body at will in order to hold onto Jaune who's holding onto Summer to keep them from falling in. Yang, like Ruby, is distraught when Summer is on the brink of perma-death after the battle, and is deeply affected when Jaune saves Summer by giving her the body he could have had. When Summer is stolen away by Raven, Yang joins Taiyang in searching for both of them. Yang asks Jaune to accompany her as the Coven breaks apart. Even if she doesn't have the Seer abilities, she wants him to choose her over the others. Knowing she's being possessive Yang leaves without hearing Jaune's answer- because, again, not a Seer- setting the stakes as Jaune has to decide who to follow as his Coven splits. Jaune's compromise solution- of being summoned amongst the coven and spending a day with them each week as he keeps them in touch- is an imperfect compromise that Yang accepts.

Season 4 is Yang's quest with Taiyang, and confronts Yang's growing jealousy and desire for an exclusive relationship with Jaune. When it's Yang's pre-arranged turn to have Jaune, it's typically for Jaune Dreams or ghost-sessions that continue their relationship and leave Tiayang an uncomfortable third wheel. Over time, though, Yang tries to summon Jaune more than she should, even when the other members of the Coven need Jaune's help more, and wants Jaune to prioritize her (his girlfriend) over others. This causes friction with Jaune, who both doesn't understand the full extent of her feelings and is committed to being there for all of his friends. Jaune won't abandon friends in need just to have a relationship, and while Yang doesn't want to abandon them she does want a disproportionate time of his time and attention.

Yang wants a monopoly of interest that Jaune won't give, which threatens their relationship. Taiyang- after being very uncomfortable third wheel to the lovers spat and lovers dreams- provides advice to Yang about the difficulties of open/polyamorous relationships. Taiyang would draw back from his own experience from the love polygon that was him, Qrow, Raven, and Summer, and how (badly) that turned out. While Yang took from Summer that ambiguously muddled relationships were bad, Taiyang's moral of the story would end up being that understanding, not exclusivity, is what would make a relationship work. Trying to monopolize Jaune away from friends isn't healthy, and if Jaune was the sort to go along with Yang's desires and abandon his commitments to the others he wouldn't have the sort of commitment Yang wants either. Yang's character development / relationship maturity peaks when Yang willingly foregoes a turn or two with Jaune when Jaune is preparing the Weiss/Blake/Ren tour de force of season climaxes. Yang wants compensation for it later, but her willingness to compromise saves the relationship and shows her balancing her friends and Coven's needs against her own desires. Jaune is grateful, having feared he was in a messy breakup if Yang insisted he stay, and Jaune promises to make it up to her. After Jaune's successful mission with Weiss/rescue of Blake/Lantern prison-break with Ren, Jaune returns to Yang at the next summoning to give her his undivided attention. It even happens to be on the six-month anniversary of them going out, or round abouts, and so Jaune remembering it and treating Yang to pleasant dreams re-stabilizes the previously troubled relationship.

Yang's jealousy/relationship development is the focus of Season 4, but Taiyang and Yang are only chasing after Raven during it. The catch-up and confrontation would occur during Season 5, which would address Raven's kidnapping of Summer, abandonment of Yang, and the big honking spoiler I dropped last chapter, the reveal of which shakes Yang to her core.

Yang is a homunculus- a body without a soul of its own.

'Yang,' as we know her, isn't the 'real' Yang- from now on called 'Yang'- who's soul was conceived by Taiyang and Raven. That Yang had her soul stolen during pregnancy, leaving Yang born as a soulless husk of a baby. That was why Raven left, and what she's been doing ever since then- chasing after and trying to save the soul of her 'real' daughter. Raven doesn't acknowledge Yang as her daughter, just the body, because 'Yang' is a different entity entirely. Raven eventually found 'Yang', and rescued her soul, but something else was possessing 'Yang's' body when she came back- Yang.

When a homunculus is unpossessed, it can still respond to stimuli and instincts, but it's mostly a shell. If a homunculus is unpossessed long enough, however- a year or two- it can start to develop a pseudo-soul of its own. Homunculi souls, rare as they are, are considered 'lesser' souls- they are echoes of the original soul that should have developed, they have a weaker grip on their body, and are more vulnerable to spiritual corruption. They don't even produce residual aura, 'proof' that they aren't 'really' alive in the first place. They were never supposed to exist, and other ghosts tend to see them as an obstacle to be ejected from a body that should go to more worthy spirits.

This is what happened to the Yang we know. The Yang we know was born an almost brain-dead baby, but was protected by Summer until she could grow her own pseudo-soul. In terms of soul-age, Yang is really only as old as Ruby, as before then she was an almost vegetative husk who only slowly grew awareness thanks to Summer's ministrations. Because Yang had developed awareness and a soul, Raven couldn't put 'Yang' back in 'her' body. Raven left, looking for some other solution to save her 'real' daughter, because Yang is just a placeholder. She's just a body in search of a spirit, and being a homunculus is why she likes Jaune as much as she does- at an instinctive level, Yang's homunculus nature wants a 'real' spirit, and lets Yang's soul go so easily in hopes of getting a real soul in its place.

Raven revealing this once finally tracked and cornered is an emotional haymaker to Yang. Yang enters a crisis of identity, especially when faced ghost-to-ghost with the 'real' 'Yang'- who looks and acts a lot like her, but with different life experiences and a jealousy of Yang living 'her' life for her. A lot of Yang's sense of self is undercut by the harshness of Raven's position- that she was abandoned because she wasn't a daughter, that she was an accident and an abomination who should never have existed, that even her interest with Jaune is just a product of her form and not her own choice. Yang struggles to grapple with whether she's 'real'- really Ruby's sister, really a person, really herself- as she's knocked out of her own body and spiritually overpowered by 'Yang.' 'Yang' is the better ghost than Yang, spiritually stronger than even Jaune for having had to fight to survive her afterlife for all this time, and 'Yang' wants to live. 'Yang' wins the fight, and exorcises Yang from her own body, dooming her to wither and die without any aura of her own, like any homunculus soul should.

Except, of course, Jaune.

While Yang loses the fight for her body, badly, and even Jaune is knocked away by Raven and 'Yang,' the Arc Aura Reserves provide a life-line for Yang. Jaune helps Yang rebalance her soul and get her head on straight, and affirming her place in the Coven and their awkward ghost relationship as 'real enough.' With another go at it- and exploiting some things like 'Yang' being unfamiliar with living in a real body and letting down her guard due to the pleasures of flesh, and a loophole where Jaune and Yang can invade 'Yang's' dreams when she's asleep- Jaune and Yang are able to overpower and reclaim Yang's body from 'Yang.' It'd include some quips and puns, but also Jaune making a claim of his own on Yang's body. Quasi-romantically-possessive, and the sort of affirmative commitment Yang's been wanting. Yang's triumph in reclaiming control of her body would include the rule about how 'the only body one can possess is one's own,' proving that she has as much right to it as anyone.

The battle ends with Yang victorious, but having mercy on 'Yang.' Yang and 'Yang' are pretty similar, like twins brought up under different circumstances, but they aren't so different as they appear. 'Yang' has been trying all her life to live, watching from afar as Yang had a sister a family and a life that 'Yang' tried but failed to be a part of. 'Yang' was even one of the ghosts besides Summer haunting them at one point, trying to take part from afar, and was responsible for lost toys being found and such- her attempt to 'play.' 'Yang' was one of Ruby's imaginary friends as a child, before Yang inadvertently pushed Ruby away from engaging with her 'imaginary' friend and played with her instead. 'Yang' is basically Yang if Yang had been locked out of her own life.

Yang has pity, and rather than let 'Yang' die or kill her they would join on a spiritual level. Yang becomes 'The Woman with Two Souls' – one homunculus, one real- as she and 'Yang' become sisters-in-spirit and share the body. Yang is dominant, but 'Yang' gets turns and is in charge whenever Yang goes berserk, and so 'Yang' is brought into the Coven. (And into the spirit-marriage with Jaune- who 'Yang' develops her own crush on/envy of Yang over seeing Jaune rally to Yang.) Yang is stronger, 'Yang' is a new character with a twist on Yang's developed persona (a new 'outsider' for the group, and sadly getting her sense of 'normal' from the Coven), and

And that's about as far as any Yang-specific plots went. After learning to share her body with herself, and affirming that she and Jaune are in a committed relationship no matter how odd it is, Yang returns to the Coven. It'd be unusual, with Yang greeting Ruby about bringing her a new sister, and 'Yang' being brought out. Having learned to share her own body, sharing Jaune with the rest of the Coven becomes much easier.

The Summer and Raven plot… Raven's disgruntled and defeated in 'Yang' have to settle for body-sharing, but Summer and Taiyang contain her. Summer actually knew of 'Yang,' and the two know eachother from mutual ghost days, but Summer never had a good time to speak of her to Yang before kidnapping. If Raven didn't run off to swear vengeance/plot to reclaim 'Yang' and dispel Yang's soul for good, she'd be taken away by Summer and Taiyang as the three of them go to mend burnt bridges and address some other plots, the implicit polyamory Raven/Summer/Taiyang also had way back when. Summer is rescued, but she and Taiyang have to go with Raven to address some bigger plot or danger, leaving the Coven to continue. Ruby and Yang's parents promise to return at some future point, which wasn't even close to planned.

Yang's Coven-name is Sister Will-o-Wisp, aka fool's fire. When Yang is a ghost, her ghostly aura looks like a faint fireball to Ren, and she occasionally uses fire dust for that purpose.

Yang's relic is a ring which is totally not a wedding band. The ring gives Yang the 'touch' ghost sense with her ring-hand, allowing her to punch ghosts… or touch Jaune. The ring also acts as a seal that keeps her soul inside her body, protecting her from being possessed even when berserk. When Yang wants to become a ghost, and later on when she's changes personas with 'Yang,' she takes it off and puts it on a chain around her neck.

Yang's relationship with Jaune just got spelled out, so two shorter points. First, Ruby and Yang in season 4 serve as foils for eachother in terms of being 'jealous' characters- wants a monopoly of Jaune's attention, and Yang wants to be his priority. Both girls compromising for the Coven's dynamics is what allows the Coven to adapt and evolve. Secondly, 'Yang' becomes the catalyst for Yang entering the polyamory upon rejoining the coven. Upon the union, Yang and 'Yang' share dreams when the sleep which means Yang has an audience for her Jaune Dreams. The only way for Yang and Jaune to get privacy is to go ghost. Unlike Yang, who is heteronormatively monogamous by nature, 'Yang' is both far less committed and far more open to bisexuality. With an intent to 'live a lot' now that she has access to a body, 'Yang' is open to broadening the Coven into a polyamory that includes her. This drags Yang in, and would likely provide the post-unity character plot for them.

/

Author Note:

So. Apologies for the delay. I got caught up in stuff, and then things, and then there was a major hangover for something I can't quite remember...?

Probably unimportant. Anyway- the first part of the character arcs. Team RWBY had the most romance arcs planned, which led to the most being written. Add some typical over-planning stuff as well, and more writing went into ideas than actual writing. It's just one of my quirks.

Anyways- the dirty secret is out. This was a, gag, harem fic in the making- my own dirty concession to a cheap idea. Although it would have been so atypical I'm not sure how much the label really applies, especially since Jaune's role is more like 'actor in dreams' than romantic interest for most. Very atypical, at least.

JNPR tomorrow, and then finishing up with the misc. characters and a few last things.


	13. The Team With the Dead Weight Member

Character Arcs

All of core plots were meant to be carried forward with the various character plots. If it wasn't clear already already, the idea of Spirit Marriages to share aura was a growing concept that was just going to get bigger. Much of Season Two was to be Jaune relying more and more on his friends, their aura, and the spirit marriages that result once Jaune can enter their dreams. Some, like Nora and Ruby, are chaste. Others, are not.

Add in the quest of getting Jaune a new body, and the question of 'what next?'…

(Don't call this a 'harem fic,' though. Harem is such a dirty word. I prefer… an open relationship of various degrees of emotional investment amongst a murderous coven of cannibalistic necrophiliacs. Usual Harem do need not apply.)

What those individual characters sketches were, and the sort of character jokes planned, follow.

/

Ren

Team Leader of Team JNPR, and a Seer. Ren has seen ghosts all his life, and is driven by a desire to understand ghosts and to protect both the living and the dead.

Ren's backstory is 'typical' for a Seer child now-adays- seeing things no one else could, and not being believed when he shared. Ren watched her parents be murdered by a Bad Ghost, which was how he became an orphan. Ren, like Ruby, was ostracized from a young age until he met Nora and her Grandmother's ghost, who was still trying to look out after her from beyond the grave. Nora believed Ren when Ren played medium, and the two have been close friends even since.

Those years of the three of them- Ren, Nora, and Nora's grandmother's ghost- were happy years, until it all went wrong. Nora became reckless, pushing her Grandmother to more and more feats of ghost power that used up her residual aura to protect Nora. Nora's recklessness eventually extended to the Grimm, when her Grandmother used the last of her power save Nora from a Grimm. Nora's Grandmother was overpowered by the Grimm Ash and turned into a Revenant, a bad ghost, who terrorized the town and killed everyone but Ren and Nora in a mad bid to protect them from those who hurt them. An Exorcist was dispatched to deal with the Revenant, dispelling the Revenant ash but sealing Nora's Grandmother in a Lantern where she would be trapped for eternity, never moving on. Nora and Ren didn't understand the Lantern sealed ghosts- Ren was blinded by the light- and so they assumed Nora's grandmother was banished or destroyed.

Nora has never forgiven the Exorcists or herself, but Ren remembers how sad the unknown Exorcist looked at the time. Part of Ren's desire to deal with the Exorcists is to find that Exorcist, and the Lantern that was used to seal Nora's Grandmother. Until then, though, Ren and Nora have stayed together- Nora protecting the ghosts they could, and Ren learning all he can about Ghosts. Nora and Ren both want to protect ghosts, Nora from people and Ren from spiritual corruption that turns them bad. Both want to recreate the memory from their childhoods of ghosts and humans living together peacefully.

In the story, Ren is forced to expand out of his shell by the responsibility of being team leader and responsible for Jaune as a whole. Ren and Jaune are friends as much because Ren is the only one who can see Jaune as anything else, but gradually more as they work with and for eachother. One of Jaune's elements to grow up and mature is realizing that his pranks and foolishness as a ghost cause trouble for the more responsible Ren. After the Cardin incident, and Ren's purification of Jaune's soul from Grimm Ash, Jaune tries to return the favor by being more mature and supporting Ren in turn. This cements the friendship, and Ren's Jaune Dreams aren't strictly for sharing aura but also become the grounds for bromance of a different sort. The two talk families and pasts and theories on ghosts from their unique perspectives, and eventually Jaune gets the truth about Ren's thoughts on Nora. Ren likes Nora, and knows Nora likes him, but plays dumb because she's too important to risk losing on a relationship that might fail. Jaune gradually becomes a spiritual bridge through mutual spirit-marriage for Ren and Nora to share dreams with eachother as well as Jaune, allowing them to get together-together. Jaune dreams between the three of them are call-backs to their childhood, and Jaune is always included and never a third wheel.

In terms of plot, Ren becomes more and more significant in Season 2 and 3 when the Exorcists become more significant. Ren lacks Nora's hostility to them, remembering the bad ghosts that killed his parents, and sees them as a potential source of ghost lore. The Exorcists in turn see Ren's Seer abilities as a gift, not a curse, and want to recruit him for their effort against bad ghosts. Represented by a mostly sympathetic/reasonable Exorcist OC, Ren is tentatively recruited with the understanding of his friends that it's just to investigate. Jaune and Ren are in agreement with this, even though Nora is not, and Jaune even accompanies Ren in some cases. Ren is key to revealing the Exorcists as understandable quasi-antagonists. There are good exorcists and bad exorcists, and while they are opposed to Jaune they aren't Cardin-esque bullies either. Exorcists view their job as protecting people from ghosts, but if Ren and Jaune can prove that there are good ghosts they could cooperate and co-exist with…

Ren's investigation gets deeper in Season 3, when he starts looking for the Exorcist who sealed Nora's Grandmother. Potential drama there, as Ren deals with more sympathetic Exorcists who want to change the order. The Exorcist OC is resistant, but will adapt in a change to circumstances, and so Ren starts to think about reforming the Exorcists. Ren's investigation into the Exorcist who sealed Nora's Grandmother turns up lore on the Lanterns, but he's stopped from reading it by the Exorcist OC who doesn't trust him yet. When the crisis occurs, Ren is one of the few who appreciates that the Lantern seals both good and bad ghosts, and that releasing the ghosts trapped within will cause problems across the world.

When the crisis occurs, Ren is put in a 'join us or leave us' moment where he can join the Exorcists as they go to protect the villages from the released ghosts, or stay with Nora, who refuses to help them. Ren chooses to join the Exorcists over his girlfriend- both for greater access to their lore, and to help them deal with the ghosts released by the breaking of the Lantern. The breakup is as painful as Ren feared, even if he's resolved that his way can protect ghosts too, and it's an emotional crack in the coven. Ren hopes he can use his help and influence as a Seer to change the Exorcists from within, to make them focus on bad ghosts rather than all ghosts in general. Jaune understands and believes in Ren, promises to look after Nora at Ren's request, and blesses Ren. Ren and Jaune are still tight, and Ren clearly still cares for Nora, and entrusts her to Jaune.

In Season 4, Ren would be helping the Exorcists deal with the upsurge with ghost activity around the world, but focusing his abilities on 'bad' ghosts rather than innocents. Ren is suspected of just that sort of selective helpfulness by the Exorcists, but Ren's assistance against bad ghosts slowly earns trust. Ren's place is fragile, though, and so Ren hides Jaune's weekly check-up visits and covert assistance. Ren and Jaune working together saves a group of Exorcists at the 'start' of Season 4, however, accelerating Ren's rise in the organization and rewarding him with long-sought information on the Exorcist who used a Lantern on Nora's Grandmother.

Ren's patron in the Exorcists is the Exorcist OC, who benefits from Ren's assistance as much as Ren benefits from him. The Exorcist OC and Ren have a very productive relationship, respectfully debating the role of ghosts, the dangers they pose, and the good they could do. The Exorcist OC suspects Ren is getting help from Jaune, but is pragmatic enough to accept it, and is the one to guide Ren to the Exorcist archives and into the order. From within, Ren is also brought to some of the other Lanterns, specifically the one Nora's Grandmother is sealed in. The Exorcist OC explains that while the Exorcists developed their sealing techniques from the Lanterns, they lost the ability to create the Lanterns long ago. Now the Lanterns are filled- a product of their over-use against ghost good and bad. The Exorcists need more Lanterns to contain the current Ghost outbreak. In exchange for nearly unrestricted access to the Exorcist Archives, Exorcist OC gives Ren a task- figure out how the Lanterns work, so that more can be made. When Ren asks how he's supposed to do that, the Exorcist OC ambiguously suggests 'from the inside'- while saying that as long as Ren doesn't break the Lantern, anything he happens to find inside is his.

Thus sets up the Ren arc of Season 4- Ren and Jaune are allowed to study the Lantern to figure out how it works, and to try and recover the soul of Nora's Grandmother if they dare. The Exorcist OC knows Ren has Jaune around, but and is exploiting it. If Jaune helps Ren understand the Lantern, that's worth him snooping around. If he fails and is trapped, problem solved. Ren's plot is a scholarly/investigative one, as Ren spends most of his time studying in the archives, and Jaune's visits are chances to experiment on the Lantern. The risk is high, but the prize…

Progress is slow at first, as Ren and Jaune are concerned of Jaune being trapped by the Lantern. Jaune can't 'possess' the Lantern or slip through when it's off, as the Lantern's form is made of a material that blocks ghosts. This material also blocks the Grimm from sensing the ghosts within, but the Lantern can only be entered when the shutter is open and 'on.' Jaune is strong enough to resist the light, but only barely. After a near-miss in which Ren was able to 'pull' Jaune back, Ren and Jaune develop their spirit-marriage bond to fasten a 'safety line' (a red string) that Ren can use to pull Jaune back from the Lantern's pull. With it, Ren and Jaune's experiments eventually reach a point where Jaune can enter the Lantern.

The inside of the Lantern is a massive prison, with ghosts 'shrunk' upon entering the Lantern and put into rows upon rows of cells in a giant matrix. Inside the cells, ghosts survive, sustained by the power of the Lantern. Outside the Lantern, golems patrol as jailors and janitors- repairing the prison, and seeking to catch any escaped ghosts. Ghosts can break free of their cells easily, and evading golems isn't hard, but with nowhere to go most ghosts stay in their cells where it's safe. There is no escape, not even 'death by golem'- any ghost that is caught by the Golem patrols is dragged deep into the bottom of the Lantern, where they, too, are turned into golems. With little else to do, the prisoners have taken to breaking down the walls between cells and forming their own communities, typically grouped by era of capture. There are old and ancient ghost communities still alive- including one led by a famous Arc, Joan Arc, Jaune's namesake.

Joan of Arc is Jaune's prison-guide and rescuer from the golems when he first arrives. Joan was a warrior, a Seer, and burned at the stake during the Witch Hunts. Joan is anachronistic- speaking oddly and not knowing the Kingdoms of present- but strong. She's hard, having led and protected her prison-community from the constant pretty competitions of the prison gangs of bad ghosts trapped inside, but she's loyal to family. Joan takes Jaune under her protection, and helps him in his quest to find Nora's Grandmother. She thinks he's foolish to have entered the Lantern willingly just to find one lost soul amongst millions- cursing Arc promises and the motto of never going back on one's word- but she agrees to help because he's family. When Jaune reveals he can leave the prison via Ren's 'thread', Joan makes clear the stakes: if others realize what Jaune can do, they'll trap him there himself in hopes he can extract them as well. Jaune's prison visits become the makings of a 'jailbreak' plot, during which Jaune takes risks and also learns/bonds with his ancestor, who reveals that she died protecting her child from exorcists and fool-hardy people. Joan hates the exorcists, for what they did to her and trapping all the ghosts here, but reigns in her hatred when she learns of Ren's assistance. Joan opening up about her family gets Jaune talking about his, and his coven, which provides some advice and guidance from a voice of experience. Joan tells Jaune to treasure all of his coven, supporting his decision to balance his friends, and gives Jaune some support to carry on. Joan specifically tells Jaune to care for the weapon spirits as if they were his own children, because they are, and finally reveals that her own child- the one she died and was trapped in the prison in order to save- was none other than Crocea Mors. Realizing the connection, and that her child is still 'alive' and they could be reunited, Jaune resolves to rescue Joan as well.

The prison plot draws to a close as the window of opportunity closes. Ren is pushed to produce results or else go back to ghost-hunting by the Exorcists. Nora's Grandmother is found, but she's in a bad place and enslaved by one of the tyrannical gangs of the prison. Once the prison-break starts, the golems will come out in force and increase the risk of capture. Finally, Jaune has the Weiss and Blake plots resolving at the same time as well. The season climax is the trifect of Jaune hitting Weiss, Blake, and Ren's resolution in that order, so that if worse comes to worse and he's captured…

The prison break occurs, is dramatic and stuff, and Jaune finds Nora's Grandmother. Jaune's able to convince her to follow him thanks to name-dropping Nora and Ren. In the course of the fighting, Joan's attempt to extract both Nora's Grandmother and Joan from the prison fails. Joan has to hold the line, and it ends with Jaune telling her of Crocea Mors and swearing to come back and reunite them one day. Joan believes him, Jaune and Nora's Grandmother escape, and it's a wrap… except Ren nearly having a heart-attack in the effort to draw them both out of there, and Jaune having to apply ghostly CPR/possess Ren's heart in order to get it started again.

The exorcists get what they need from the debriefing- runes and golem seals and other things- while Ren tries to hide the ghosts of both Ren and Nora's Grandmother. The Exorcist OC implicitly knows, but allows Ren to go, and even gives Ren leave to 'take care of personal business.' Ren leads Nora's Grandmother, who doesn't have much time left now that she's outside of the Lantern, to the Coven.

Reclaiming Nora's Grandmother from it, setting her free, and bringing her back to Nora so that she can move on in peace would be the key to being forgiven by Nora and restoring their relationship. Ren's not 'back'- he returns to the Exorcists to continue reforming them from within and to get their help with the Cinder plot- but Ren's return- however brief- helps restore the Coven. Jaune and Ren's bonding improves in the process, as the tri-lateral Nora-Ren-Jaune dreams resume, and Ren returns with a lighter heart. Penny accompanies Ren as well, as she's a new-age 'golem' who can shed light on the golems from within the Lantern. Ren's return is a surprise to the exorcists, who thought he'd ditch, and Ren makes the confession that it was a ghost and living effort. Ren starts to be an active reformer within the Exorcists, even as they turn their attention towards helping in the fight against Cinder... which means sending Ren right back to the Coven, who's leading the chase.

From then on, Ren is the 'Exorcist' member of the Coven, trusted by both sides and the key to their cooperation. Ren occasionally leaves for short periods for Exorcist business, potentially taking along some of the others (like, say, Blake post-Adam to share news of the White Fang Coven). The Exorcists are a reoccurring faction, while Ren is a frequent companion, with Jaune always having his back when dealing with the exorcists.

That'd be a lot of things, as Ren is a major character, but the above is all that's specifically mapped out. In the hazy end-game, Ren ultimately replaces the Exorcist OC as the leader of the Exorcists, reforming them into an organization that can work with the dead to protect everyone. That he's part of a Coven, and spirit-married to a ghost, only heightens the irony.

Ren's Coven Name is Sister Mister or Brother Sister. It sometimes becomes Brother Sissy after Ren conceives a spirit weapon.

Ren's relic is a Necronomicon, a book of ghost lore bound in Jaune's skin and written in Jaune's blood. At first the text is gibberish, but when Jaune possesses the book he can make the words his own, allowing Ren to read Jaune's thoughts even if they can't hear them. Ren and Jaune gradually turn the Necronomicon into their own book of ghost lore.

Jaune's relationship with Ren is… no homo bromance turned increasingly-less-awkward triad to 'because Nora says so'?

At the start, Ren's spirit marriage with Jaune is in name only, strictly for aura purposes… until Ren, too, somehow conceives a weapon-spirit. Neither Jaune or Ren know how, especially when Nora can vouch for their shared dreams being friendly, but admitting such just launches speculations of ghastly threesomes. Such a threesome wouldn't occur until at least Nora and Ren get back together, but at the time Jaune's just a third wheel in Ren and Nora's Season 2 lovey-dovey.

After the breakup of Season 3, Ren 'hands off' Nora to Jaune, asking him to look after her while working with the Exorcists. Nora attempts a rebound relationship with Jaune, which Jaune confides with Ren unsure of what to do. Ren misses Nora and regrets hurting her, but tells Jaune to support her as best he can, while both Ren and Jaune both work on the Lantern project. Still no romance, but Ren and Jaune do get closer when they play with the spiritual-bond between them. Ren is responsible for drawing Jaune out of the Lantern, a difficult process, constantly knocking him out after each Lantern-dive and forcing the two to share Jaune Dreams to communicate what's happened. Ren's final effort to draw Jaune and Nora's Grandmother out during the jailbreak runs into some complications, and Ren almost dies in the attempt. Jaune has to possess his heart to restart it's beating, along with ghost-CPR.

Ren and Jaune's next/last progression is upon return to Nora. Nora is happy to see Ren back, and forgives him for saving her Grandmother, but she also had a 'comfort' relationship with Jaune and even turned to Pyrrha during the rebound phase. It healed more than hurt, but it also made things complicated between them despite Ren understanding and Jaune trying to back out during the couple's reunion. Nora doesn't consider Jaune a third wheel though, as Nora is grateful to both of them and relieved for both of them, and doesn't want to let either of them go. So Nora doesn't, and in the renewed shared Jaune dream Nora brings both Jaune and Ren into a menage a trois in the first dirty dream they've shared.

From then on, Ren and Jaune are both Nora's 'boys,' and they learn to deal with it. Jaune and Ren are uncomfortable at first, uncertain of how it (and they) fit together, but Nora shows them how. Ren and Jaune gradually become more comfortable with it and each other. Ren and Nora are always involved together, with Jaune an occasional third, in the first outright three-way relationship of the Coven that spurs the curiosity/fantasizing of parts of Team RWBY. As the Coven transitions to polyamory, Ren and Nora lead the way with including others, with Nora in charge of her own little wing of the Team JNPR end of the Coven.

Once the RNP threesome gets out, the question of who tops between Ren and Jaune becomes a reoccurring joke, typically in the faux-hypothetical 'Ren, would you prefer to screw a dead guy or get screwed by a dead guy?'

Ah, yes. Gay necrophilia. This story was going _classy_ places.

/

Nora

A non-seer who none the less believes in ghosts, and does her best to protect them.

Nora and Ren's backstory is pretty much the same. Nora was left an orphan when her beloved Grandmother passed away, but her Grandmother became a ghost to keep watch over her. Ren and Nora met and bonded when Ren was able to see her Grandmother and play the medium. The period that followed was a golden time where a ghostly grandmother looked after the living children.

The golden time ended as a consequence of Nora's carelessness. Nora's exuberance caused her Grandmother to use up most of her aura, and taking a foolish risk that endangered her to Grimm ended up turning her Grandmother into a Revenant. Her grandmother became a mad ghost, a twisted perversion of the gentle and loving woman she had been in life and death, and was only stopped when an exorcist banished the Grimm ash and then sealed the Grandmother in a Lantern. Nora believed her Grandmother destroyed, never to move on, and has never forgiven the Exorcists or herself for what happened. Since then, Nora has done her best to protect ghosts and stop them from becoming 'bad' ghosts.

Nora's role in the story is mostly as an enthusiastic friend and defender of Jaune, a 'good' ghost who reciprocates her attempts at friendship. Nora is blatantly biased in favor of ghosts, giving them the benefit of the doubt, and so Nora is Jaune's most stalwart defender during the Cardin crisis. Jaune appreciates the faith, and Nora's near-sacrifice to save his soul, and is a faithful friend from then-on. Nora has plenty of energy to share to cover Jaune's aura worries, and is happy to be able to help. When spirit marriage is spelled out, Nora still goes along with it, equating being with Jaune with how she's with Ren. Nora's Jaune Dreams are bubbly, happy affairs where Nora's dreamscape comes up with crazy but fun things they can do, like riding pancakes down a river of coffee.

As thanks for her friendship, and his friendship with Ren, Jaune is instrumental in getting Nora and Ren together-together. Jaune says what Nora isn't brave enough to, and convinces Ren to take a risk, and the resulting happiness deepens the friendship between him and them. This even leads to three-way dreams where Ren and Nora and Jaune all share dreams. Rather than let Jaune be a third wheel in a romantic rendezvous, Nora ensures that they all have something to do together.

Cracks later form when Ren accepts an invitation from the Exorcists. Nora hates Exorcists, but is convinced by Ren and Jaune to allow it so that Ren can browse the Exorcists's accumulated ghost lore. Jaune is key to smoothing over the differences, and Nora accepts it as a temporary measure. The differences become too much at the end of Season 3, after the Lantern is destroyed and countless ghosts are released into the world. Ren leaves with the Exorcists despite an ultimatum from Nora, choosing to help the exorcists stop the bad ghosts that were released rather than help Nora protect the good ghosts from the Exorcists. Nora feels betrayed and heartbroken, and in her dreams turns to Jaune for comfort.

It's the first her Jaune Dreams almost become intimate, and for much of Season 4 Nora is heart broken and on the rebound. While she clearly still cares deeply for Ren, she also feels personally betrayed that Ren would side with the people who exorcised her Grandmother. In her turmoil, Nora turns to the last person she's thinks would betray her like that- Jaune- and pushes an almost desperate dream-relationship like Jaune had with the RWBY girls. It's unhealthy, and Jaune knows it's unhealthy, but it's less unhealthy than letting Nora be broken alone. Even as Nora is saccharine cheerful, she's also crying, and Jaune turns to both Ren for advice and Pyrrha for assistance in looking after Nora.

Nora is emotionally unstable- pretending things are fine, but having outbursts that prove otherwise, and at her worst becomes closer to Ruby and Yang- clingy, needy, and monopolizing. Nora's sense of betrayal runs deep, and Jaune's frequent departures aren't helping. When Team RNPP encounters the Badwitch coven, Nora falls victim to the false-happiness and stability that Brenda offers as she targets Team RNPP.

Ultimately what starts to break Nora out of her funk is Pyrrha, who's been Jaune's confidant and steps up to offer emotional stability to the team. After Jaune leaves another time, prompting a sense of irrational betrayal from Nora, Pyrrha lays down some tough love and enforces some emotional discipline. Pyrrha calls Nora out- firmly but honestly- and breaks through Nora's façade of denying the reality of Badwitch, loving Jaune, and not caring about Ren. Nora breaks down, forced to confront reality, but not alone. Pyrrha accepts Nora's break down without becoming rebound to the rebound, Nora gives up her false relationship in Jaune when she still cares for Ren, and Jaune is still there for her when he returns early to give her fore-warning of the impending attempt to break into the Lantern. Jaune tells her what he and Ren have been up to, how they've found her Grandmother and are going to try and break her out, and promises her that the next time she sees him or Ren will be when they break out of the Lantern.

Nora is terrified at the prospect- afraid that Jaune and Ren are both in danger in the effort. Nora is afraid that Jaune will get sealed, trapped like her grandmother, all because of her anger/grief over Ren. Nora prays for their safety, that Ren will keep Jaune from being trapped while Jaune will protect Ren from being punished by the exorcists, and in admitting her fears for Ren Nora breaks out of her rebound period of denial. Nora helps with dealing with the Badwitch coven, though she's the person most inclined to summon Jaune to help (and thus avoid the risk of the Lantern).

Of course, Ren and Jaune are successful, and Nora is infinitely grateful. Even if she can't sense her Grandmother's presence, she believes them and Ruby when they attest to her happiness, and as her Grandmother moves on Nora 'hears' a final goodbye. Nora is reunited with Ren, and reconciled- but also the same with Jaune. Even though Jaune was 'humoring' her during her rebound period, he tried to help her to a healthier place, and he risked himself for her and her Grandmother. That was real, that meant something, and that leaves a spark of something that doesn't go away just because Ren comes back. Ren is understanding, and Jaune tries to recede to the background, but Nora won't let him be a third wheel unless he's their third wheel. They're her most precious people, they're both her boys, and if she can't give either of them up she won't. In their shared dream, Nora resolves the contradiction by making the Jaune Dream a menage e triose.

Thus starts the first trilateral part of the Coven, and Nora's relationship with both. Ren's her main squeeze, but Jaune's a frequent second, and both of them have to live with it. The most secure in her new multi-lateral relationship, Nora is also the most willing to experiment or expand within the coven- especially with Pyrrha, who provided her critical emotional support at a decisive time. Nora runs the Team JNPR wing over the Coven, and is a key instigator of turning it into a combined relationship.

As for her role in the coven- as an enthusiastic member and willing spirit-wife (if platonic and for Jaune's survival at first), Nora goes along with just about anything with good cheer. She and Jaune are platonic and easy-going, until she conceives her own spirit weapon during the comforting after the end of Season 3. Nora is an eager advocate and defender of ghosts, especially against the White Fang's desecrations, and that shapes most of her relationships within the group. Like Weiss, Nora is mostly a supporting character until Season 4, where her part of the plot arc focuses on accepting the harm 'bad' ghosts bring to the world and the justification for the Exorcists. Once Nora is able to understand their perspective, if not their stance, Nora is able to forgive Ren for his goal of trying to help and reform the Exorcists. Nora is the first to be deceived/misled by the Badwitch Coven as it tries to assimilate RNPP, but her turn-around is decisive in overcoming the Bad Witches.

Nora's coven name is Sister Boo(p), either Boo or Boop, which Nora does a lot when playing around with ghost Jaune.

Nora's relic is an Oracle Bones set, including sets of multi-sided bone-dice. Oracle bones are used for fortune telling, with allegedly predictive abilities or to commune with the dead. Nora uses them for fortune telling, or to play games with Jaune, like a Remnant Dungeons and Dragon. Jaune helps his friends cheat at dice.

Nora's relationship with Jaune is an extension of her relationship with Ren. A bit latter, a bit less, but still important due to Nora's importance on ghosts. Despite a false-relationship during the comforting/rebound period, it's Jaune's efforts to reconcile her with Ren and bring her Grandmother back that spark something genuine. Nora is the first and the easiest to accept multiple feelings for multiple people as part of the Coven's dynamic, turning it into less of a Jaune-centric web and more into a multi-lateral context.

/

Pyrrha

The non-seer partnered with the ghost of the boy she killed and can barely interact with. What could possibly go wrong?

Pyrrha is Jaune's killer, a fact he knows but which otherwise goes unbelieved by most for most of the story after Pyrrha 'magnanimously' shares the blame from Weiss. Pyrrha's role as Jaune's partner and killer really messes her relationship with him, killing off canon's crushing and replacing it with a mix of guilt and assumed responsibility. Mixed in this is Pyrrha's entirely non-canon trait of being something of a narcist, and wanting everyone's approval and adoration even as the real her is less than ideally noble.

Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship gets off to a slow start due to Pyrrha's guilt at killing him, Cardin framing him for spreading her semblance secret, and their inability to communicate easily. Because they can't communicate, Pyrrha is a more distant relationship early on, with Ruby and Ren and Nora being Jaune's closest companions. When the Jaune Dreams start, Pyrrha is again left out, having not eaten of Jaune. This puts Pyrrha as the least-close relationship for some time. Pyrrha disapproves slightly of Jaune's early immaturity, but doesn't really have the grounds to criticize harmless fun. Pyrrha's silence goes cold, however, when her Semblance secret leaks, with Jaune as the suspect. But even if she disapproves Pyrrha won't let Jaune fall to murdering Cardin, stopping Jaune from falling completely, and plays a key role in saving him. Afterwards Jaune admires her- but not as a fan- and their relationship soon improves. Once Blake figures out the secret for Jaune Dreams and has the BBQ, Pyrrha begins to have Jaune Dreams of her own which allow her and Jaune to actually connect and talk to eachother.

Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship is much different from canon, in that there's never any real romantic tension from Pyrrha's end. Post-Cardin Jaune admires and looks up to Pyrrha, who's a bit uncomfortable with the high opinion. Pyrrha does train Jaune in their dreams though, and that does bring closeness, but Jaune and Pyrrha lack means to bond outside of dream-training. Pyrrha isn't a seer, and can't interact with Jaune, and is a bit too guilty to entertain interest. Pyrrha stays out of the drama between Jaune and Team RWBY, and generally sticks with supporting Renora as a couple. Jaune actually shows more signs of interest/awareness of Pyrrha as a girl than Pyrrha thinks of Jaune, though there's hardly anything much when Jaune is dealing with Team RWBY's plots and interests as well.

Pyrrha's view is that helping Jaune survive Beacon to move on and die peacefully is a matter of honor, her responsibility as his killer, and only later part of being a friend. Despite dutifully going along with spirit-marriage as if it were an arranged marriage, an expectation she has to uphold, she has absolutely no jealousy when Yang or anyone else shows interest in Jaune. Pyrrha is actually Jaune's go-to girl for asking for help with Yang and the other girls once a relationship starts, putting Pyrrha in the awkward position of being relationship advisor despite being (a) forever alone, (b) advising a triple-timing ghost relationship that violates what little she does know, and (c) being a virgin herself. Pyrrha is embarrassed at the more intimate elements of Jaune's relationships, and sticks to the safe, vague, 'reasonable' advice as best she can.

Amusingly, Jaune always finds some great and deeper meaning in Pyrrha's bland platitudes, making his opinion of her grow even more. Jaune is always talking Pyrrha up, seeing her as the best person ever, despite Pyrrha's frequently less-than-noble and even self-serving reasons for her faux magnanimity. Pyrrha turns out to be a sort of narcist- eating up people's approval and admiration of her- and so while she has a lot of canon's personality cores, her selflessness is actually a lot more grudging than she lets on and often done on the expectation that it will make people like her more. Pyrrha can't resist showing off from time to time just to get admired, even as she truly does want to be accepted as an equal rather than just on a pedestal.

Jaune and Pyrrha's friendship is sedate, stable, and gets publicly contorted into something more with Salem's arrival in Season 3. Despite Salem's comedic joy Jaune's relationship with Yang, she's still out for revenge against his killer. Salem scares the truth out of Crocea Mors, goes on the warpath against Pyrrha, and effortlessly crushes her with dark magics and telekinetic ghost powers. Pyrrha is only spared by Jaune's intervention- and spur-of-the-moment claim that while Yang is his girlfriend, Pyrrha is his fiancé. Pinned against a wall by a single hand that could crush her throat with ease, Pyrrha has no choice but to play along- and then be smothered by Salem as she's welcomed to the family.

Jaune and Pyrrha's farce of an engagement is one of the primary plots of the tournament arc, even as Jaunce begs/convinces Yang to let it stand because Salem really will kill Pyrrha if she doesn't… and will make it hurt if she 'breaks Jaune's heart.' Endless riffing on Arkos of canon- from 'love at first sight' to 'I speared Jaune to a tree so that no one else could have him'- as Pyrrha plays a yandere tint. The farce only grows, though, as more and more people catch wind of it. First the tabloids, then the press- all leaked by an 'inside source' at Beacon with juicy gossip of Pyrrha, Jaune, and the Coven in general. The tabloids are fed by Cinder, who's trying to distract/disrupt the Coven as the media tries to investigate sordid rumors of covens and consorting with ghosts. Pyrrha's reputation takes a beating, in the 'she's a necrophiliac yandere who's enslaved the soul of her crush into a love-toy' sort of way.

By and large, it's treated as Pyrrha's karmic comeuppance for having gotten away with killing Jaune for so long. Pyrrha powers through, Jaune does his best to help with humor, and in the Jaune Dreams where they can talk Pyrrha has Jaune make it up to her by… basically doting on her every whim and desire. Peeling grapes, foot massages, that sort of thing. The spoils of being a Champion is to be spoiled, and discovering that Pyrrha likes to be spoiled is one of the first real points where Jaune peels back Pyrrha's polite shell, as Pyrrha and ghost-Jaune's relationship develops on the discoveries that while Pyrrha is nice and polite and does the right thing, she does have a slightly selfish side to her as well.

Pyrrha doesn't have too large a role in the plot, serving as the Ace in non-ghost fights and following the lead of the Seers who can actually understand Jaune. Pyrrha is the public face of the Coven, giving the friends of Jaune some good press, and helps Jaune deal with the publicity of being the first public ghost. Pyrrha comes to the fore in the finale, though, as Pyrrha is the one to break the Lantern. Doing so in order to save Jaune and Summer, Pyrrha frees countless ghosts good and bad across Remnant. In the dust-up that follows, Pyrrha is held responsible for just about everything, and exiled/tasked to find and stop Cinder to redeem herself of the various charges cannibalism, necrophilia, and murder. When Pyrrha is exiled, Jaune gives her Crocea Mors as a sign of trust and solidarity, sticking with her as partners for the quest (even though Jaune spends much of Season 4 being summoned across Remnant in order to accompany everyone at least once a week).

An Arkos tint to the spirit marriage would be a long-term goal, but it would only even start in Season 4. The idea of Jaune and Pyrrha's spirit marriage is 'an arranged marriage that becomes closer over time,' where Pyrrha starts the process out of guilt and a feeling of obligation, but gradually becomes a friend and more.

What really brings Pyrrha and Jaune closer together is, ironically, Jaune's stressing over balancing all the other spirit-wives of the Coven. In Season 4 Jaune is constantly on the move and being summoned across Remnant to help the divided Coven. Each only has him for a day, but they're all on different continents and in different contexts: Ren and the Exorcists, Blake and the White Fang, Weiss in a haunted mansion, Yang and the hunt for Summer and Raven, and of course the rest hunting for Cinder and dealing with the Badwitch Coven that pretends to be nice and helpful. Jaune is worn, worried for them all, and balancing their needs both physical and emotional.

The emotional health of the coven is especially in doubt as Blake deals with dead babies, Yang and Ruby get jealous in different ways, and Nora is on the rebound. That doesn't even touch Weiss, Ren, and Jaune's own problems, and his desire to keep them from worrying. Jaune is running out of energy, figuratively and literally, trying to keep the Coven stable.

Pyrrha gets closer by being the rock and stability Jaune needs while shouldering the burdens she can. Pyrrha asks for nothing in her dreams, allowing Jaune to rest, and takes up the burdens she can without having to be asked. Aside from giving up some of her own allotted time so that Jaune can focus on pressing problems, Pyrrha helps as she can with good advice and handling the issues that Ruby, Penny, and Nora have with Brenda Badwitch and otherwise. Pyrrha consoles Nora about rebounding on Ren with Jaune, stabilizing her and helping Nora address her real feelings rather than pretend otherwise. Pyrrha helps with Ruby after Jaune snaps in stress, kindly assuring Ruby of Jaune's concern on one hand but pushing Ruby to understand the needs of others on the other. Along with… something else for Penny, Pyrrha leads-from-behind with the girls of the Cinder mission, guiding them to address the Brenda Badwitch coven on their own while Jaune handles the other crisis plots. Fewer summonings allow Jaune to rest more, prepare better for the tasks ahead, and cherish the time he does spend with R/N/P more for having fewer worries. Pyrrha's dependability shines through to Jaune, even as Jaune's diligence and hard work for the sake of everyone endears him to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha and Jaune culminate near the season resolution, where Jaune runs a gauntlet of helping Weiss deal with ghosts/helping Blake escape the White Fang/helping Ren extract Nora's grandmother from a Lantern, and coming back dead to tell the tale. Pyrrha is the last of the Coven that Jaune shares a dream with before departing, borrowing deep from Pyrrha's aura to have strength for the tasks ahead and being sent off with a kiss on the cheek for luck… and Pyrrha is the first Jaune visits when he returns post-Lantern. Jaune visits Pyrrha in her dream worn and nearly fading out of existence, but victorious. Jaune is nearly crashing he's so in need of aura recovery, but before he can try to check on the other girls Pyrrha assures him she already has. Pyrrha bids Jaune to rest with her, and Jaune gratefully agrees. Before he crashes, Jaune embraces Pyrrha and promises her anything she desires as thanks for being so reliably amazing in general, and amazingly reliable for him. Pyrrha spends the rest of the dream lying beside Jaune, stroking him as he rests, and musing about how he can live up to his promise to her after all.

Arkos is a slow burn from there on, more of a simmer than anything. Pyrrha is an emotional cornerstone for her team, the coven, and a rock of stability for Jaune. She doesn't try to be first in any way, but in doing so is Jaune's confidant even as Jaune is a confidant for others. Pyrrha gradually takes what she wants, and what she wants is ultimately inclusion as an equal (but an admired equal) within the coven. Pyrrha is the one everyone in Team JNPR can turn to, and she gradually (and, not-quite-sinisterly, deliberately) turns that into her own niche in the Coven. Pyrrha is like the oldest wife of a man who has many young ones- not necessarily the most passionate, and not necessarily the most emotional, but solid and respected despite the years.

Pyrrha's story plot is nominally the core plot of the rest of the story- to find and stop Cinder. It's as much the Coven's mission as Pyrrha's mission, as it's not particularly personal, but as the Coven does great things Pyrrha (by hook and crook) ends up getting the credit, and avoiding the blame. The Coven's adventures is publicly Pyrrha's redemption tale- no matter how much (or how little) she deserves her public rehabilitation.

Pyrrha's coven name is Sister Killer… more for her killer moves than her killing Jaune. Most of the Coven never even really knows she does it. Pyrrha also has a reoccurring joke of contemplating killing any witnesses to this or that transgression, which builds onto a gag of Pyrrha actually being a bit of a narcist and only being nice and selfless because it's the easiest way to be adored.

Pyrrha's relic is a compass made of Jaune's bones. Most compasses are useless for Pyrrha, but this one unwaveringly always points towards Jaune('s spirit). With it, Pyrrha can always find Jaune.

Pyrrha's relationship with Jaune was hit above. Pyrrha's relationship really only starts when the polyamory is in full swing, though, as Pyrrha is late to the party. Pyrrha's actually pretty okay with that, and maneuvers herself into the Team JNPR triad that forms when Nora clings to both Ren and Jaune. Pyrrha has her own special tie to Nora after bringing her to her senses, is consistently indispensable to both Jaune and Ren, and ultimately invites herself in as a well-earned reward after some heroic quest cast in terms of giving Team JNPR (and the trio in particular) a break away from Team RWBY to have some time to themselves. Pyrrha's fantasy is to have all of Team JNPR waiting on her hand and foot like a noblewoman, and ultimately Team JNPR can comply.

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Jaune

Jaune is Juane and the center of the story. Do I really need to go into more detail?

Jaune's character is mostly about trying to live as a dead person, and being close to his friends. After the Cardin Arc in particular, Jaune realizes how precarious his afterlife is, and dedicates him to trying to repay his friends the favor of saving his soul. While Jaune's friends try to give him a good death, Jaune tries to help them with their lives. The whole Coven open relationship isn't intended, but just gradually… happens.

One of Jaune's best features to his friends is his discretion. Between the Jaune Dreams and other things, Jaune sees sides of his friends that most never do, and he respects their privacy while doing so. Even when things are embarrassing- or alluring- Jaune keeps confidence, which gives everyone more confidence to confide in them. Jaune doesn't play psychologist, but his presence does allow his friends to entertain their dreams without judgement or work through their issues. While Jaune is confidant to many, Jaune's own confidant is Pyrrha.

Jaune's spirit relationships are… not quite hidden from eachother, but not really open either. Everyone knows about spirit marriages, but from the start one of the rules of the friends is 'What Happens in Jaune Dreams stay in Jaune Dreams,' unless you feel like sharing. Weiss, Yang, and Blake know each other have dirty Jaune dreams, but tend to keep what and how they feel about Jaune to themselves. Most of all, no one treats the spirit marriages or Jaune dreams as 'real' relationships. Jaune's just… part of a fantasy, something not real and thus consequence free, and something that the girls can leave behind at any time for a 'real' relationship. The idea of being consequence free ends when Ruby conceives a weapon spirit, but as the spirit marriages become more Jaune is committed to upholding them all as best he can. This requires compromises- such as taking turns with dream-time- but Jaune is as committed to his coven as they are to him. The fact that the Coven starts unofficial and open is what allows the polyamory to develop over time.

At the end of Season 3, the cast splits in different ways and as if to force Jaune to pick and choose one over the others. Jaune refuses, and has developed his ghost power enough to more or less teleport to any of his relics that the friends each have. Season 4 stresses Jaune with balancing the various needs and wants of the Coven even as he tries to help them all handle their issues, and ends with a tour de force of the Blake, Weiss, and Ren plots.

Season 4 was never consolidated, and Season 5 and beyond was even less planned. Season 5 and 6, aside from cementing the transition to polyamory, would have reunited the Coven and left them a new sort of world to address and no end in sight. Plots could have allowed arbitrarily splitting the Coven from time to time to allow different aspects.

-A race against Cinder to find cities of the dead, ruled by ancient and powerful Crypt Lords, for a Lantern/leads on the Devils/other McGuffins. Would have featured standard undead nobility villains.

-A rising threat of the Devils, who are machinating social conflicts (like driving the SDC-White Fang War and so others mentioned here) to raise the risk of Grimm and for other goals. Arguably the Big Threat aside from Cinder.

-Cinder herself, who grows more and more powerful. Cinder becomes a threat of moon-shattering proportions.

-The White Fang Coven, which is using ghosts as weapons but is secretly manipulating Adam for their own ends.

-An Exorcist splinter group, hardline in the extreme, trying to ruin things for all ghosts and nearly killing everyone's souls in an attempt to 'starve' the Grimm into extinction so that a precious few survivors would inherit a 'pure' Remnant.

-A crazy Atlas nationalist/cultish group, who wants to restart the Penny Project and make golem armies to beat back the Grimm… and maybe conquer the world in the process.

-The Army of Angels, supplied with bodies by SDC, coming into the world to protect the innocent- and coming into conflict with the Exorcists.

-The rise of ghost-cults, which range from 'fanclubs for the deceased' to 'creepy villains.'

-Salem giving birth to Blake's once-aborted child, who is the epitome of 'creepy kid' and would be vaguely anti-christish if he (she?) weren't such a momma's boy/daddy's girl.

-An undead tyrant/super-villain, released from the Lantern that Pyrrha broke. A ghost that requires the entire Coven to beat it.

-Plot threads of the Primeval Empire, a tyrannical super-state of ye time past who enslaved the dead as golems and lorded over the living as god-kings before the Grimm destroyed it. Many of its surviving spirits are now the Devils.

-A ghost-tied super-weapon that cracked the moon when it saved the world from something vaguely super-Cinder-ish.

-The Coven turning outright polyamory. Team JNPR is its own wing, but also building things amongst Team RWBY (mostly with the arrival/involvement of 'Yang', a now guy-shy Blake, and possibly teasing Weiss with possibilities towards the point of her having suppressed desires).

-A Team Vacation/Team Assignment arc, where JNPR and RWBY split to remind them that, Coven or no, they are two separate Teams. Probably in a 'return to Beacon' concept, Team JNPR gets a vacation while Team RWBY gets a mission. Split would be key to furthering the polyamory elements of both teams- where Pyrrha gets JNPR, and 'Yang' and Blake make do without Jaune.

-A honeymoon/date arc, where the Coven collectively has to split for a period and Jaune is back to being summoned every day of the week to a different person to help them with something far more trivial and far more likely to involve private time gone wrong rather than sexy. Helping Ren with Exorcist paperwork, Weiss/Yang/Ruby visiting parents, sickness, and so on.

-Jaune increasingly running low on the Arc Family Aura reserves due to all the adventure. Jaune keeps it secret as to not worry everyone, but his (and Crocea Mors) time is running out for real. It's not enough to conserve energy- Jaune needs to start gaining more than he looses.

-The discovery of nature spirits and radiant aura absorption- a new way for Jaune to actually 'gain' energy from the living and his coven.

And so on. Thing is, there were way too many ideas to ever really do, and honestly… all of them could have happened, as part of that 'the adventures never end' concept. The core plot of Cinder and the Devils could have concluded, and the world-changes of the return of ghosts and everything else would have justified The Coven going out and addressing such things.

The shakiest of shaky core plots, to lead to an end-game-

-Jaune's eternal aura crisis getting serious

-Jaune discovering the way of the Nature Spirits and how to absorb aura from the living

-Cinder growing more powerful in the race for the necro lord artifacts

-The White Fang coven working towards the moon-shattering ghost weapon

-The devils looking to rebuild the Primeval Empire through an army of Penny-bot golems

All vaguely coming together towards a finale where

-Cinder is final boss after devouring devils

-The White Fang uber-weapon has to be used to kill her.

-Jaune dies- should-be-perma- in the process of killing Cinder. Jaune is a hero, and is able to Move On.

-Jaune has a 'beyond the other side' sequence, a chance to reincarnate/start over from the start and live a 'canon' life.

-Jaune's coven/friends bring him back from the dead, and the other-side, breaking all known rules of ghostdom.

-The Coven is Big Damn Heroes, and Jaune finally gets a homunculus body.

-Jaune asks his coven to marry him, officially.

-End with a poly-wedding, specially Ruby and Yang at the same time.

And then do Adventures Ever After, with maybe epilogue scenes for how everyone ends up in the long run happily ever after. Those epilogue end-states might be-

Ruby- The Virgin Wife. The final marriage scene has living Ruby and body-less Jaune trade I-do's, while the relationship stays in Ruby's head/dreams from start to finish. Ruby never has a physical child, but raises Crescent Rose and is a second-mother to a lot of the ghost-kids. Ruby lives the longest of all of them, and her eventual death of old age surrounded by living and dead loved ones is what reunites the Coven on the other side. Ruby becomes a ghost, like everyone else before her, as no one would move on without the others. Ruby's passing as a ghost allows them all to move on together as a Coven, the 'true' end for the story.

Yang- Two Wives In One. Yang and 'Yang' are basically two sides of the same soul, both eventually on board with it, with 'Yang' getting to wear the dress and walk down the isle with her mother(s) and father while Yang does the ceremony as a ghost. Homunulus Yang and Homunculus Jaune 2.0 have many kids, while the ghost Yang/'Yang' helps rear the spirit-kids.

Weiss- The Angelic President. Weiss takes over SDC on her own, which causes her to physically leave the Coven in time, but she's never alone in spirit. Weiss remains close and is the favorite aunt who spoils all the kiddies. She gets regular visits from her Coven sisters, but not as often as shrieks are heard in the Schnee mansion. Few brave the thought of the haunted Schnee mansion- fewer still stay when they realize it's not screams of fear. Weiss has twins- another creepy kid duo- one with ghost-sight and one with ghost-hearing- who are never lonely as they realize just how full the mansion really is.

Blake- The Purrfect Witch. Blake's a full-time witch, and leads the revival of dream-magic in the world. Hurt by Adam and the White Fang, Blake never looks beyond the Coven for a relationship again, but never needs to either. Blake never formally gets married, and doesn't have another living child, but she does conceive another weapon spirit or two to fill Gambol Shroud's components. Blake's child would be the anti-Christ of Remnant, were it not such a momma's boy/daddy's girl and raised with so many morals.

Ren- The Bromantic Exorcist. With JNPR's help Ren becomes leader of the Exorcists, reforming them into an organization that works with good ghosts to hunt down the bad. Ren leads a project to gradually empty the Lantern prisons of souls, allowing countless ghosts a chance to move on and dispelling the bad ghosts before they can be released in-mass. Despite being happily married to Nora with children of their own, and something on the side with Pyrrha, what everyone really remembers is his multiple spiritual knock-ups from Jaune, despite his insistence he never bottoms to a dead man.

Nora- The Valkyrie. Nora eventually joins the Exorcists with Ren and Pyrrha and heads up a special enforcer unit that protects ghosts from people as much as the other way around. Nora is the heart of the Team JNPR poly, with Ren and Jaune being 'her boys' and Pyrrha being 'her girl,' and woe be the knees of anyone who belittles them. Nora has children, spirit and living, who never know a world where spirits and the living existing together isn't normal.

Pyrrha- The Coven's Champion. Pyrrha eventually redeems her name with the defeat of Cinder, and serves as the Coven's public face thereafter. Accepted by her Coven-sisters, and loving the lime-light of being a world-champion, Pyrrha joins Ren and Nora in the Exorcists and keeps JNPR together. Pyrrha has three children in time- one red-headed, one blonde, and one with black hair. Pyrrha ages like a fine wine- only getting more elegant with age.

Jaune's coven name is… Jaune.

Jaune's Relic is Crocea Mors, his weapon and weapon spirit. Crocea Mors eventually talks to Jaune, since they (and Yang) share the same residual aura needed to survive. Crocea Mors would eventually be reunited with its mother, Joan of Arc. Also a prime candidate for a perma-death in the end-game.

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Author Note:

Rest of the characters coming up last.

Team JNPR was a bit odd to work with, since their relative importance is the inverse of their role in most stories. Ren and Nora are incredibly important, while Pyrrha is much, much, much less so. Writing a Ren and Nora plot was interesting, especially when dealing with the idea of romance. I dabbled on the Harem/poly aspect for a bit- considering limiting to just Team RWBY- but I figured if I was going to stoop to design a poly, I might as well go all the way. Ren and Nora were the best options to shift some of the balance away from Jaune being the center of everything. Ultimately, while RWBY was generally Jaune-centric in set-up the JNPR was meant to be more team-centric.

Still, Pyrrha was a pretty minor character all things considered. Without the early-story plot hooks, she didn't have much to do after killing Jaune. Still, her dynamic- of helping stabilize a poly- is actually a concept a friend and I worked out, for how a late/newcomer to an already established poly might actually work out in practice.

Will say that I liked the idea of Ren who joins a nominal 'antagonist' side. Ren's an ideal character for being the reasonable character, and the Exorcists were meant to be a 'reasonable' faction at the end of the day. It's a problem, they're a means to deal with it, and while they might not be the right way they're not without justification either.

Also- and I'm ashamed I didn't think of it before- someone came up with the perfect name for 'Yang'- Yin.

Yin and Yang. Two souls, one body. I wish I'd thought of it myself. (Or would Ying work better? Hm.)


	14. Final Act of a Dead Story

Preliminary Author Notes:

The apology of 'I'm sorry.'

There's no good reason this was delayed as long as it was. There are reasons- 'busy' and 'forgot' and other stuff- but not good reasons. Those things and stuff aren't about to go away, either, so here's me getting out the last of this while I can.

Here's the last planning notes for the story that should have died awhile ago. If anyone wants to adopt it/try to write it for themselves... feel free to go ahead.

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Other Characters

Some shorter reviews of characters and their roles.

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Penny

Penny is the first Ghost in the Shell. She's not actually an artificial intelligence, but a ghost who was saved from undeath and given a new body that could generate aura. Penny doesn't remember her after-life as a ghost due to how depleted she was as a wisp when she was saved, but she was the dead daughter of her creator. Penny represents a new potential future for Remnant- to be given new life and new, immortal machine-bodies after death. That makes her highly controversial with people who view her as an act of someone playing god, while the Exorcists are concerned with the prospect of malevolent ghosts inhabiting such bodies.

Penny is- ironically- scared of ghosts and the supernatural. She knows they exist, even if she doesn't know she is a ghost, as she was haunted by jealous ghosts early after her transition. They- and their possession-driven destruction of electronics around her- left her not only with a general fear of bad ghosts, but a specific fear that, were she possessed, she could die if the ghost-possession fried her circuits. Her eagerness for friendship with Ruby is balanced by her fear of Jaune, who possesses (and fries) an Atlas droid as a distraction for Penny and Ruby to get away from Penny's guards.

Penny is afraid of Jaune. It's ultimately needless, since Penny has a soul and her aura would protect her from hostile possession, but Jaune pulls off a dramatic rescue and delicate possession when he is able to save Penny by possessing her and moving her to safety during a White Fang ghost attack during the Season 2 White Fang investigation arc. As a result of the trust and brushing of ghost-souls in her body, Penny carves out an exception for Jaune in her fear of ghosts.

As a result of Jaune possessing Penny, Penny has an out-of-body experience and becomes a ghost like Yang when Jaune possesses her berserk form. Penny as a ghost is rarely used, but it does allow her, Jaune, and Yang to escape early bodies and other imprisonments. At one point, far far in the future, Penny would be allowed to 'die,' ala canon... but migrate to a new Penny body.

Penny is not a founding member of the Coven, but becomes an honorary member after having getting involved in the Season 2's White Fang Investigation arc. Penny 'kills' Jaune when she annihilates the Paladin he was possessing, ruining his best robot body yet. Between that and Jaune helping defend her from a swarm of enraged ghosts, Penny joins the Sisterhood as an Honorary Sister Who Murdered Jaune.

In Season 2, Penny gets involved in the White Fang investigation arc, where she both is saved from a swarm of ghosts and destroys the Paladin that Jaune possesses during the Roman fight. In Season 3, Penny is exposed and shown to the world as a ghost and a machine. She becomes extremely controversial, as some people see her as an attempt to play god and the Exorcists are opposed to the prospect of bad ghosts getting Penny bodies. When Salem enters the scene, Penny is treated with polite indifference since she's the only one of the Coven not in a spirit marriage or conceiving a weapon spirit with Jaune. When the Lantern is revealed in Season 3 climax, Penny is almost captured when her soul is almost ripped out of her body by the Lantern's power. It takes both Jaune and Yang as ghosts to grab her and pull her back in, saving her. At the end of Season 3's crisis, the entire Penny project is shut down, leaving Penny the last of her kind (besides Summer, who is kidnapped). For her own protection from the Bureaucrats of Atlas and the pending social upheaval, Ironwood entrusts Penny to Ozpin, who entrusts her to Teams JNPR and RWBY.

In Season 4, Penny accompanies Ruby, Nora, and Pyrrha as part of Team Rest In Pieces- named because there are plural 'P's, and because they have a tendency to cut and smash apart their enemies. Penny is mostly a support character, but also a target of the Brenda Badwitch coven's machinations. Brenda Badwitch would like to exorcise Penny's soul from her body, to make space for Brenda's own spirit-spouse. Following Season 4, Penny would eventually depart back to Atlas and Ironwood, being a reoccurring character. Penny is ultimately tied to the golem plot, as her technology is based off of the ancient golems. Unlike the golem-slaves, which trapped souls and ghosts, Penny has free will. While Penny is at risk of being enslaved, ultimately she'd be key to stopping any Golem armies, most likely by giving them all free will as well. This would be a late-game/end-game development promising future upheaval and chaos, another part of the new age of the living and the dead.

Penny is the only member of the Coven who doesn't have a spirit-marriage with Jaune. Being a ghost, Penny doesn't dream, and especially once they understand her true nature Jaune doesn't borrow aura from her. What does happen is that, once Penny's ghost nature is discovered, Jaune and Yang teach Penny to use her latent ghost powers. Once she stops being afraid of herself, Penny will often escape her grounding/being cooped up by Atlas soldiers by escaping her body and going to her friends at Beacon. Penny is happy to assist Jaune in getting a body like her own. Like Ruby, Penny's interest/relationship with Jaune is innocent, but is more along the lines of ghost-bonding rather than spirit-marriage. As Penny accustoms herself to her ghost powers, interest may or may not have built, in a 'robot's first crush' sort of way.

Penny's coven name is Sister Machine.

Penny's relic is a pair of human skin gloves, made from Jaune's skin. While wearing these gloves, Penny can 'feel' human sensations… and touch ghosts, feeling Jaune. Even without spirit-marriage, Penny's feeling-sessions play the necro-ero comedy angle.

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Summer

Ruby's mother, still around but just barely.

Summer's presence was hinted as early as Initiation, when Ruby is guided by 'someone' to Jaune's body before performing the aura ritual. Jaune wasn't awake or aware before the ritual, so who beckoned Ruby over? Summer. Summer occasionally whispers to Ruby, guiding her to important things.

Summer's relevance starts as far back as the backstory. Summer, Raven, and Taiyang (and possibly Qrow) were all tied together in a team polyamory centered around Taiyang but led by Summer. Summer was actually a Seer like Ren, a secret she only shared with Raven during the polyamory days.

After Yang was born a soulless homunculi when 'Yang' (Yin) was stolen and Raven chased after, Summer stepped in and nurtured, protecting her from possession by any other spirits. At first Summer did so to keep a body for 'Yang' and Raven to return to, but when Yang's own homunculus soul began to form Summer accepted her and raised her as her own daughter. Summer passed away before Raven and 'Yang' could return, and so died before she could explain her decision. Summer the ghost knew Yin was hanging around, but Yin blamed her for letting Yang's soul grow and would flee rather than talk to her.

Since being banished by Ruby during Ruby's difficult childhood, Summer has survived at the margins of existence and Ruby's rebuke. She looked after Ruby and Yang as best she could, with small acts, but has since lost most of her power to affect things. Summer is a wisp at this point, barely surviving, and lacking the aura to even stay in existence all the time. Summer's source of residual aura is Ruby's cloak, but Ruby's rebuke keeps her from getting too close. Summer is like someone dying of thirst but surviving on tiny sips of water.

Summer gets new life thanks to Jaune. Jaune spends enough time in Ruby's cloak that some of the residual aura rubs off of him, and when Jaune is outside the rebuke radius Summer can get the aura off him. Summer gradually gets the aura to make her presence more permanent, slowly appearing as a ghost to Jaune and Ren before getting stronger over time. Summer's presence is hinted at in Season one, Jaune sees a 'mysterious woman' more and more often in Season 2, and Summer is identified in Season 3.

Summer is a very weak ghost, but gradually gets enough power in Season 3 to be able to communicate with Jaune. Salem provides a catalyst to give Summer more presence, and explain the nature of the Ruby's Rebuke and Summer's limitations. Jaune's discovery of Summer is great news, and introducing Ghost Yang to Ghost Summer is a significant moment that also solidifies Yang's romantic interest in Jaune. Yang, Summer, and Salem are all able to work out Ruby's Rebuke, and what needs to be done to reverse it, allowing Ruby to hear Summer at long last as well. Ruby hearing Summer after so long, and Summer doing a cloak hug like Jaune often does, is another very tender moment.

Even with her presence restored, Summer doesn't have much time left, but she is able to help Salem 'deliver' Ruby's weapon-spirit spirit-baby and put it in Crescent Rose. Before then Summer is also re-united with Taiyang. Summer being reunited with her family and able to spend time with them will allow her to move on in peace, but that is put on hold while Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang have her back.

During the Season 3 finale, Summer is too weak to the fight, but tries to help anyway by watching after Ruby and shouting warnings and doing effective assists to help Ruby. When the Exorcists reveal the Lantern, Summer- almost ready to pass on to the other side already- is caught in its thrall. Jaune risks being trapped himself to catch and hold Summer from being drawn in, and Pyrrha breaks the Lantern before Jaune and Summer can both be trapped and devoured.

In the aftermath, Summer is so drained of residual aura that she prepares to pass on anyway, even though it means Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang losing her again. Instead, Jaune gives her the Penny-bot body that was being prepared for him, even though Atlas has shut down the production line and won't be building another for him. The possession works, and Summer wakes up surrounded by her family while Jaune watches. There's some comedy in that Summer is in a male body, but the machine parts can be changed later. Summer is weak, but producing aura, and should make a full recovery with time.

Before that, though, Summer is kidnapped by Raven who cuts a portal into the room and drags Summer through. Raven's reasons are a mystery- it could be bad, or it could be to protect Summer- but Taiyang and Yang are immediately resolved to chase after them to find Raven and recover Summer. Raven

Summer's recovery plot is what leads to the introduction of Yin, the original 'Yang.' Raven didn't intend to kidnap Summer, but to steal the Jaune-bod artificial homunculus shell for 'Yang' to use. Summer inhabiting it before Raven could strike- and then refusing to leave it in favor of Yin- was unplanned, and unwelcomed. Raven keeps Summer in a hope that Summer will abandon the shell in favor of Yin, and Summer's refusal (because she needs the shell, because it will force a reunion of the family) is a cause of friction. Summer doesn't have much agency in the plot- especially when Yin steals Yang's body- but she's key to the pacification of Raven after Yang takes her body back. Summer leads herself, Raven, and Taiyang (and possibly Qrow) away so that they can reconcile after so many years… and resume the old polyamory they themselves had before Yin was stolen from them all. Summer herself was the linchpin that kept Taiyang and Raven together, and it was Summer's death as much as Taiyang's collapse and Yang's development that kept Raven away.

Summer's personality is family-centric. She's not quite a purity sue, but as a wisp her identity and focus has simplified as she lost her sense of self and the last thing she clung to was her family. When Jaune is finally able to communicate with her, Summer is warm and appreciates his friendship with her daughters (which she considers Yang as well as Ruby). Summer knows of his relationship with Yang, and approves. Summer always knows of Yin, but can never find a good time to bring it up until it's too late.

Summer is still committed to her old Polyamory, and the relationship looks prime to resume. Taiyang reuniting, embracing, and kissing Summer takes a turn for the comedic when attention is drawn to Summer being in a Jaune-bod, thus making the story qualify for the much-coveted gay robosexual necrophilia trigger warning.

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Taiyang and Qrow

Ruby's Dad, Yang's Embarrassment, but only one of them is a closet gay robosexual necrophiliac. The other's just gay.

Taiyang and Qrow comes into the story between Season 2 and 3, having heard from Qrow some scandalous rumors that his precious daughters have gotten married. Taiyang and Qrow break down doors, break open the Coven, and are generally embarrassing father-figures looking the murder a guy who's already dead. It's especially embarrassing for Yang because they interrupt her private-time Ghost-session with Jaune.

What follows is mostly a comedy session as Taiyang and Qrow attempt to interrogate Jaune in laughable ways. Taiyang interrogates Jaune over an Ouija board. Qrow gets his supernatural monsters mixed up, trying to banish Jaune with holy water he bought from a charlatan exorcist, before moving on to silver bullets and a stake. Both embarrass the girls with questions about the Jaune Dreams, though Yang is a lot more embarrassed while Ruby is embarrassing with her (exaggerated) innocence.

Ultimately Taiyang and Qrow are appeased when Team JNPR comes back in and Ren can explain that spirit marriage isn't romantic. Foreshadowing/brick joke comes in with Taiyang and Ren snarkily pinging each other as gay with their gaydars, but Taiyang and Qrow accept it and leave… though Qrow keeps a closer eye on Jaune and comes back during the Vytal festival.

Qrow has a trait in that while he isn't quite a Seer, technically- having a vague sixth sense that gave him a hard childhood and allowed him to empathize with Ruby- when he's _really_ drunk he can just barely make out the outlines of Jaune's ghost. This means that Qrow gets hammered often and badly, and embarrasses Ruby and Yang with his drunken rants and accusations and general drunken foolery. When Qrow returns in the Vytal Festival and meets Winter, he makes comments about the Angel Winter has looking out for her… before also making a comment about breast size. Qrow is the embarrassing uncle for Yang, even as Ruby insists he can be really cool when he's not drunk… which is almost ever never.

Taiyang returns after Summer is found right before the Season 3 crisis. Taiyang gets caught up in the crisis, and arrives after Ruby's 'delivery. Taiyang dreams of Summer that night- affirming/creating their own ghost-marriage (Salem provides a catalyst drawn from Ruby- don't ask), and when Summer is put into the Jaune-bod Taiyang is right there by her when she wakes up. Taiyang kisses her in full view of everyone- even though she's in a Jaune-bod- creating a yaoi fangirl moment with the rest that Yang and Ruby will never be allowed to live down.

When Raven arrives that night and kidnaps Summer, Taiyang leads the effort to find the both of them. Yang accompanies, but Ruby doesn't, focusing on Cinder instead. Qrow works for Ozpin, acting as a messenger who appears (albeit less frequently than Jaune) to both groups.

During Season 5, when Taiyang consoles Yang about living with a polyamory, it's revealed that Qrow was also part of the poly. The Cool Uncle is also the gay (or at least bisexual) uncle. Taiyang was basically the heart of the poly, and Qrow was the last one standing who 'won' a bitter victory, and things mostly stopped after Raven and Summer's departure. Qrow's a bit of a tragic figure in that, as Qrow was the one one the outside looking in and only 'brought in' by Summer. In the poly's original 'plans for the future,' Taiyang was to father Yang while Qrow was to father Ruby as the poly tried to build a 'normal' family while staying close, but Yin's kidnapping and Raven's disappearance threw everything into shambles.

After finding Raven, and Summer, Taiyang leads his reformed team for their own off-screen adventures. Qrow drinks a lot because the polyamory is back on… even as he's dragged into it as well by Summer, who now happens to look a lot more like Taiyang and thus just his type. Parents set bad, or good, examples for Yang and Ruby, and the groups cross paths when there's an excuse to.

Overall, Taiyang is the over-protective dad. Qrow is the embarrassing gay uncle who also often watches the Coven from afar on behalf of Ozpin/Raven, and the parents as a whole provide an example of an (eventually) positive poly-relationship for the Coven to build off of.

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Raven

Yang's mother by blood, but not in spirit.

Raven's significance in the backstory can't be understated, even if it's a late reveal. Raven is not a Seer, but she knew of/believed in ghosts even so due to Qrow's partial attunement, and she truly believed thanks to Summer. Raven was a key part of the parental polyamory that Raven, Summer, Taiyang, and Qrow were all caught up in. It was a poly that centered around Taiyang, but was led by Summer, who had her own particular relationship with Raven as well. It was Raven and Summer who came up with what had been the intended end-goal of the poly for the long-term as a dual-marriage swinger couples. Raven was to mother Yang, and Summer to conceive Ruby with Qrow, and from there provide a more normal family structure for the children while keeping the poly alive in secret.

Then things went wrong when Yang's original soul was stolen. Raven quested to recover Yin, but by the time she returned Summer had concevied Ruby, allowed Yang's homonculus soul to grow, and then died. Summer's death- and Qrow and Taiyang's reactions and acceptance of Yang- broke the bonds, leaving Raven to feel betrayed by the poly and prompting her to leave again to try and find a way to restore Yin some other way.

Raven is a minor presence in the story early on, getting an obligatory sharing of Yang's past as part of hers and Jaune's character development, but really only features in a minor cameo when she almost kidnaps Yang's soul-less body. It's a vague near-miss that Yang and Jaune don't realize, but it serves as some of the only foreshadowing of Yin's existence. Otherwise, Raven enters the story suddenly and without warning, abruptly kidnapping Summer and creating a impetus for the further break-up of the coven as Yang leaves to chase Raven down. Raven is an antagonist of Yang's arc, built up as a cruel mother who abandoned Yang and is now stealing her other mother away. In the lead-up brief encounters, Raven is further vilified by rejecting Yang as her daughter- what seems to be a heartless maternal rejection actually building up to the reveal of Yin.

Raven is a hard woman, but at the end of the day she is a committed mother... Yang's just not the soul of the daughter she gave birth to. Yin is, and Raven has spent all of Yang's life trying to save her daughter's soul from death. When Yin- the 'original' Yang- had her soul stolen as a child, Raven left immediately after on a quest to save her. By the time she did, and came to return, Ruby had already been born, Yang was growing a homunculus soul, and Summer wouldn't allow Yang's soul to be destroyed to make room for Yin. Feeling betrayed, Raven left again to find other means to sustain Yin, and has spent the time since then doing whatever it takes- hunting ghosts as a free-lance exorcist to take their residual aura for Yin, and entering into a spirit marriage with her own daughter to provide aura for survival. Raven is a dedicated mother... just not to Yang.

Raven's role is mostly tied into Yin's, and the season 5 crisis where Yin possesses Yang's body for her own. Raven is the antagonist, keeping Summer as a hostage and trying to get her to give up the Jaune-bod, but ultimately stopped by Taiyang to allow Jaune and Yang to reach a resolution with Yin. Once Yin and Yang make peace, and agree to share the body, so too does Raven make an easy peace with Taiyang and Summer, who take her away. Despite the years, there are still strong feelings, and Summer takes the lead in taking Raven away to try and rebuild the poly.

From then on, Raven is an occasional character as part of Team STRQ, the parents team, who occasionally cross paths with the Coven as they all do Important Quests off-screen. Raven is close to Yin, and has to come to terms with Yang, and while they might never be 'close' they come to terms and accept eachother. Raven would ultimately, in a late moment of how serious the Coven is, have a heart-to-heart of sorts with Yang to give her her own advice on the polyamorous relationship, and basically encourage her to go for it.

/

Cinder

A power-seeking, ghost-hungry woman who feasts on men's souls and drinks the tears of children. Well, one of those is false- Cinder is an equal-opportunity consumer of souls.

With Salem being out of the villain business from the start, Cinder never gets involved in the Maiden plot. Cinder has the ghost-sense of taste, which allows her to consume spirits and gain power from them, and she has concocted her plan in an attempt to gain more ghosts for more power.

Cinder's backstory, which would come in Season 4 from the Exorcists, basically amounts to that once upon a time Cinder was so weak that she was forced to resort to cannibalism to survive in snowy mountains. A friend/mentor/lover sacrificed themselves so that Cinder could eat them- twice- and so survive and become stronger. Ever since Cinder has been power-hungry so that she'll never be so desperate again. Once upon a time Cinder may have hoped to find some way to recover her other's soul, but those days are long past. At the time, Cinder was taken in and trained by Exorcists, where she learned most of her ghost lore. Cinder was capable and clever, but only in it for herself and her own power. Cinder was eventually caught consuming the ghosts she was supposed to be banishing, and cast out of the order.

Cinder's plan revolves around the Exorcist relics known as the Lanterns- magical ghost prisons that have been used to imprison ghost souls for centuries but are carefully hidden and entrusted to the greatest Exorcists. If Cinder can get her hands on them, she could consume all the ghosts inside at once for a massive power boost. Cinder leads the White Fang to cause enough havoc with ghosts so that the Exorcists will bring out a Lantern.

Cinder's plan mostly succeeds- unfortunately for her. Cinder consumes so many ghosts that she goes beyond ghost powers and starts to turn into a shape-shifting Grimm. Cinder flies off as a dragon, and can take human form, but her transformation is incomplete because Pyrrha broke the Lantern before Cinder could consume all the ghosts. Cinder is looking for another Lantern, but hobbled by her Grimm new nature.

Cinder was more or less the Big Bad of the story, though possibly a case of The Dragon to the Devils manipulating things from behind the scenes. Cinder would turn on them, and anyone, even other Evil Cryptlords, to gain more power. She didn't have much character planned- an admitted weakness on my part- but most of the story was more about the ghost adventures as the Coven tried to find her, rather than she herself. Cinder was so unimportant to the wider array of things that I never even came up with roles for Emerald and Mercury- they might have been sacrificial pawns in Season 3, eaten to show she was a Grimm, or just never existed.

Cinder would ultimately be defeated. Part of her role in the story was to bring back elements of the Primeval Civilization of ghosts and ghost-tech. Cinder would bring back ancient doomsday weapons, golems, and most of all the Curse of Grimm.

Grimm was an actual dude, a Ghost Eater from the Primeval Empire. The Primeval Ghost-tyrants were so power-mad that they made Grimm, one of their Seer arch-priests, consume countless souls of slaves and golems. The ghosts consumed cursed the Devils so much that they wished an even greater evil who would wipe them out. That greater evil was the Monsters of Grimm, who devoured the empire. Grimm is still alive though- trapped as a breeding-post for countless grimm. Finding Grimm, freeing him, and enabling it's soul to move on (or be destroyed once and for all) would be a part of the end-game.

Cinder's final fate... pretty much undecided, because there wasn't much thought for her ultimate character. It's unlikely to be redemption in any sort, but what the Coven does to her soul- damn it to eternal suffering or allow her to move on despite everything- would be symbollic with the new age of the living and the dead. (I lean more towards Cinder killed, but her soul purified and allowed to move on myself.)

/

Roman and Neo

Two thieves, working with Cinder, with their own ties to Exorcists. Relatively minor characters.

Roman is a normal person, not a Seer. He's a thief, a good one, and he knows about ghosts even if he can't see them. Roman was hired by Cinder to help steal a Lantern away from the Exorcists, and he's involved in getting the White Fang to use their ghosts in such a way as to draw out the secretive Exorcists.

Roman's cane, Melodic Cudgel, is a spirit-weapon. He's not the parent, but thanks to Neo he was able to spark a relationship with the weapon-spirit within, giving it his aura in exchange for its assistance. Melodic Cudgel can possess itself, do tricks, and help Roman fight Jaune even without seeing him. Roman's not a coward, but he's ultimately working with Cinder to find a way to avoid death. Roman wants to survive, which means to outlive even his own death.

Neo is not a normal person. She a homunculus possessed by a Legion of spirits- Spirits so closely bound that they can't separate from eachother. They give Neo great power, but less psychological stability. Neo is loyal to Roman because he saved her from… something. I never decided what, but Roman 'stole' Neo's homunculus shell from somewhere else- possibly the Schnees and the Angels- and Neo has been by his side ever since.

Roman and Neo weren't too thought out, being mostly minor characters. Roman would have been a candidate to 'die' and become a bad ghost to serve as a reoccurring enemy to the Coven. Neo might have had ties to the White Fang Coven, linking Roman to the White Fang plot.

/

Adam / The White Fang Coven

Adam is the one leading the White Fang into darker tactics, turning faunus ghosts into weapons through dark acts of desecration, at the instigation of the White Fang Coven.

Going a bit off the deep end after Blake's defection, Adam was taught how to harness the power of ghosts by Cinder and the White Fang Coven. These ghosts serve as a super-weapon for the White Fang that evens the odds in their struggle against SDC, whose ability to counter ghosts is limited. It's a victory at any cost sort of thing.

Adam is ultimately a pawn for Cinder and the Coven helping him. The White Fang resorting to necromancy gets the Exorcists involved against them- which distracts the Exorcists from hunting Cinder herself. Adam thinks he's in control, but it's a case of hubris and meddling with powers beyond his understanding. Adam's targets are hurting the faunus the White Fang are supposed to avenge, let alone protect, and risks escalating in turn.

The big unanswered question at the end of Season 3 isn't how Adam is desecrating spirits, but how Adam is getting ghosts to use in the first place. In order to find out and stop it, Blake fake-defects back to the White Fang at Adam's invitation. Adam believes Blake will go along with things now that he has an effective way to beat the Schnees, and is fooled by Blake's acceptance. Adam shares the truth, which is the White Fang Coven- a truly evil coven (compared to Brenda Badwitch's less-malign but still bad group) who consorts with the Devils and is responsible for escalating the SDC-White Fang conflict. The White Fang Coven has Adam under their own magical influence, twisting him to their ends.

Adam is an evil man, but also a pitiful one. Adam is a bit off the deep end, and being affected by the White Fang Coven. He sincerely believes Blake has seen the light and come back to him, and is possessive once they 'resume' their relationship. Adam is insecure that Blake may have found anyone to like in her time away at Beacon.

When Blake is pregnant in Season 4, Adam is sure the child is his. Except, when it's found it's not and has blonde hair…

The White Fang Coven is a group of (faunus) witches helping the White Fang for their own end. They serve as the collective substitute antagonist for Salem- as the Power behind Cinder/Adam- and they link the White Fang to the ghost plot. There ultimate goal/motivation is to recreate the primeveal empire of old, with themselves as the god-king/queen tyrants lording over all. The White Fang is just a means to tearing down the old order.

They have ties to Adam (obviously), Cinder, and to the Devils themselves, though despite professing allegiance to all they truly only serve themselves. The White Fang coven would secretly not be all-faunus after all- having a number of secret human sisters (and brothers) elsewhere- and be the candidates for 'being responsible for making the White Fang evil.'

Ultimately they'd be a significant and necessary enemy for a witch-hunt by the Exorcists. Ren's ability to restrain the Exorcists from excessive punishment of the innocent would be key to his rise in the Exorcists and the gradual partnership of Exorcists and Good Ghosts against Bad Covens.

/

Salem

Witch, would-be villain, and Jaune's mom. Salem was converted to the good side, or at least the non-world-destroying side, by Jaune's father- who, in Salem's not necessarily biased opinion, is the best lover in Remnant, living or dead. Salem loves her family, and not much else, but is only token-evil for now. Suffice to say Salem doesn't want to destroy the world her family is on, and so is on the side of Jaune.

Salem comes around in Season 3, after the Vytal Festival Tournament reveals Jaune's life (and afterlife) to the world. Salem comes ready to raze Beacon to the ground, but settles for putting Ozpin on the hot-seat for Jaune's sake. A Salem arc would focus on Salem intending to take Jaune away from Beacon and back home, and being convinced to let him stay with his coven.

Salem **_loves_** that Jaune has a coven. She loves that Jaune has so many spirit-marriages, and thus so many spirit-brides. She's not even going to judge that one of those brides is Ren. And she loves, loves, loves that greatest gift of all: Grandchildren! (Even if they are weapon-spirits.)

Salem is an embarrassingly affectionate mother, gushing over how manly her dead son is, and basically treating all the friends like daughter-in-laws. She's embarassing, but also supportive, and becomes an immediate source of ghost lore on the topic of spirit marriages and such. Salem is the one who identifies Ruby as pregnant with a weapon-spirit, and teaches the girls how to summon Jaune to them, and otherwise teaches them ghost mechanics and abilities they'd only been grasping at before.

Why does she know ghost abilities? Don't ask- just like you shouldn't ask why she has red and black eyes, a bone white face, black veins, has all five ghost-senses, can beat Grimm-turned Cinder at her own level, and can deal with Jaune just find. It was a long time ago, she's married now, and that's that.

Salem is affectionate to Jaune and her daughters-in-laws, but frightening otherwise. Think a sort of maternal-yandere, or at least very over protective. Jaune has to step in to protect Pyrrha from Salem's vengeance, claiming Pyrrha is his fiance, and while Jaune laughs off his mother's over-the-top promises of vengeance, we the audience know she's quite capable of it. Salem also hates Ozpin with a passion- and not just for Jaune dying- and there's clearly bad blood there.

With Jaune body-less, Salem wants to take him home and give him a new one. Not make him one, like the Penny body, but make one as in keep trying with Papa Arc and see if they got it right in nine months. Salem raises the existence of homunculi- soul-less artificial humans- as a solution for Jaune, since Jaune could then possess and claim a living body for his own. Salem's method will take nine months to see if she got it right, and another 17 years of growing up is too long, making it a bit too long even if Papa Arc will make it fun. Jaune declines to leave his coven. Salem stays for the tournament, and to keep an eye on the Exorcists. During the crisis of the finale, Salem midwife's Ruby's spirit-child. Salem and Summer work together to put the ghost-baby in Crescent Rose. Salem also bitch-slaps Dragon-Grimm-Cinder away from where Ruby is convalescing, demonstrating her power over the still-incomplete Cinder.

After the crisis, with the teams splitting, Salem sees Jaune off as he vows to look after his coven as best he can. Salem sees Jaune off with a promise, and a warning born of love- that should anything happen to him and he die for good, she will raise the greatest army of Revenants the world has ever seen and raze the kingdoms of whoever is responsible.

So, no pressure Jaune. At least you know she cares.

Salem is an occasionally reoccurring character, something of a Grand-Matron to the Sisterhood, and supporting the Coven when it benefits Jaune or the prospect of Grandchildren. In particular, Salem gives ends up being a surrogate mother for Blake's aborted child, allowing it's soul to possess a homunculus shell intended for Jaune. This child- born from a Grimm-tainted body and creepy to the max- would be the Antichrist figure of Remnant, were it not spoiled sweet by Salem.

Towards the end-game, Salem's past would be exposed. Yes, she did used to be very evil, and yes, she was a Ghost Eater who consumed so many souls she became a Grimm like Cinder. It was long ago, and there might even be a tragic/unwilling villain aspect to it, as Salem may have been tricked/forced into consuming the souls for power needed to stop some great catastrophe. Salem blamed Ozpin, prepared to be pure evil, met Jaune's father, and became redeemed through love and family.

Salem is a changed woman- if still a bit evil beneath the love- and so dealing with her would be a task for the Coven that adores her. Salem could survive- a plot of redemption of souls over past wrong-doings, and that Salem can make it up to the souls she devoured by living a good life for them- or she could die, in a heroic sacrifice/tragic loss that none the less proves she had become a 'good' spirit herself. Salem's life/death would be the thematic precedent for the ultimate handling of Cinder's soul after Cinder's death.

/

Ozpin

Mysterious asshole, and possibly quasi-immortal.

Ozpin knows about ghosts, but not that much about ghost lore, or so he claims. Either way, he prefers to let the Coven figure it out for themselves, providing guidance and a little bit of help from time to time. Ozpin never confirms or denies where he can sense Ghosts at all… though he plays damn ambiguous about it from time to time.

Ozpin's goal for Jaune is to use Jaune as an exemplar of what Ghosts once were and could be again for people- a natural state of life, co-existing with the living, and just as capable of bravery and heroism as the living. Ozpin and Ironwood hope to use Jaune to re-introduce ghosts to the world via the Vytal Festival, and use their performance to normalize them for the populace.

Ozpin is opposed by the Exorcists, who work to keep ghosts so rare as to be forgotten. Ozpin and the Exorcists aren't enemies, as they both want what's good for the living, but they don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to the dead. Ozpin is hated by some Exorcists, but has a very respectful relationship (and disagreement) with the others. By an ancient agreement between the Exorcists and a Headmaster of Beacon, Exorcists are banned from setting foot in Beacon.

(It's later revealed to Ren that Beacon used to host a Lantern that was completely filled with spirits, and that the Headmaster of Beacon is solely entrusted by past Exorcists with protecting it from even the Exorcists.)

Ozpin has a past with Salem, but it's never clear what. Whatever their history, Ozpin has comedic terror… until we learn that it is Salem, and his fear doesn't seem so comedic anymore.

Which makes it funny.

After the Crisis, Ozpin and Ironwood are in political hot water. Ozpin survives in Beacon but he's bogged down in politics and helping teach Hunters to manage the return of ghosts. Eventually- much later into the search for Cinder- Ozpin recalls the Coven that is technically still students at Beacon. Team RWBY and Team JNPR are re-formed and split for the first time in a long time for a dedicated arc to doing something to get school credit.

Ozpin and the Beacon staff more or less serve as handlers for the Coven after the initial hunt for Cinder, giving leads and framing a lot of their missions as school work. Ozpin has a handle on managing the global instability caused by ghosts, and generally does it for the better, with Jaune and the Coven being an unorthodox but ultimately good figurehead force for restoring order and a new age of coexistence.

Ozpin ultimately gets tied again in the endgame, particularly where Salem is re-involved and made into a target. Ozpin is tied to Salem's becoming a Grimm-born Witch, the root of their animosity, but he's also the Respected Authority figure who would speak in Salem's defense as a reformed spirit.

Ozpin had a good chance of dying towards the end- along with Salem- as the 'fall of the Big Good' that creates late-stage tension about the severity of the threat of Cinder. Ozpin/Salem's death would have been the moment that forces the Coven to stand on its own without a powerful patron, but also a symbol of clearing the way for a new generation to make a new world, where living and dead will make their own ways rather than be dictated by the past.

/

Glynda Goodwitch

A Good Witch. Was once a spirit-wife of another coven, and has a sister named Brenda who is a… Badwitch.

Glynda is Ozpin's left-hand when it comes to dealing with ghost matters. She would be the right hand, except she knows what Ozpin does with that hand. Glynda was once part of a coven herself, though her former spirit-spouse has passed on. It's an old tale, and she isn't sharing.

Glynda is the initial antagonist, and wants to expel Jaune to send him back home to his family. She has to do so by applying the school rules, which become challenges to push Jaune's growth. Glynda isn't evil, she just believes Jaune would be better living the rest of his after-life back home so that he can move on. Glynda's view, while hard, is born of her own Coven experience.

This would come out in Season 4, but Glynda and her sister were members of a Coven. Instead of helping their spirit-spouse move on, they tried to prolong the ghost's existence, but eventually the ghost ran out of residual aura anyway. Glynda and Brenda fought over what to do, and came to blows when Brenda began trying to steal the residual aura from other ghosts. The sisters separated, their ghost-spouse disappeared, and Glynda's moved on as best she could. Glynda's view is that ghosts should move on as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Brenda would come up in Season 4 as the leader of a Bad Coven of Bad Witches and Bad Ghosts that Pyrrha/Ruby/Nora/Penny party encounter on their quest for Cinder. Brenda has turned to dark arts and stealing residual aura to sustain what's left her ghost-spouse, who is still around but trapped against its will. Brenda would reveal the backstory, and serve to force Nora to accept that Exorcists have a role in stopping Bad Ghosts and Bad Witches.

Glynda is not a Seer, but her semblance can affect and push back ghosts.

Glynda would survive even if/when Ozpin failed, and become the next Headmistress at Beacon.

/

Team CFVY

Supporting characters who aren't key to the overall plot, but would be a supporting cast group to represent Beacon and the Hunters during the Questing period.

Team CFVY works mostly as a proxy for the student body at large, giving names and faces to how people react to Jaune during the early/mid game. When Jaune is just starting to be known and believed by the student body, they're curious. When Jaune is pranking and helps with Cardin, they're light-hearted and happy. When Cardin frames Jaune for a lot of things, they suspect the worse. And when Jaune's name is cleared and he redeems himself by being more serious, they accept him. Team CFVY is friendly with the Coven, even though they're never a part of it.

Instead, Team CFVY is part of the running joke of 'every single team at Beacon becomes a polyamory eventually.' It's a slow development that actually parallels the tightening of the coven, with Team CFVY serving as foils to temper the Coven's growth and force them to address uncomfortable but necessary questions. Coco in particular brings up the points such as a leader's responsibility to be fair, and balance the needs of the group against the desires of the individuals, and the difficulties/dangers to the group's effectiveness as a team. Can a team retain trust if there's romance within the group? Can a leader be relied upon to be fair and balanced if they're in a relationship with one of the group?

They're real questions, and that's the friction in the Team CFVY plot as a result. There is tension, and attraction, as what starts as Velvet crushing on Yatsuhashi becomes a not-quite two-timing dating with Fox as well even as Coco herself is trying to be happy for Velvet despite her own attraction and Velvet's resists, and warns against Velvet's double-dating, because she doesn't want to unbalance the team... but she can't bring herself to forbid it either, and so worries over and tries to protect the team even so. Ultimately Team CFVY joins the dark side as the balance Coco seeks to preserve comes from accepting all of them, not rejecting all of them, and taking a leap of trust. It works out, because that seems to be a theme of the story, but Team CFVY's team relationship issues is a pacing device/foil for the development of the Coven's.

Aside from yet another team-based poly- and raising the idea of a group relationship having a 'heart' (the cornerstone of the group) and a leader (the one who looks out for them all as a whole), Team CFVY has its own quests and roles. Team CFVY ultimately is a fellow Beacon team sent by Ozpin to help with the world in chaos after the return of ghosts. It's a school assignment to them, but it provides Ozpin and the Beacon faculty a way to check up on/assist the Coven at various times. Team CFVY would appear for a sub-arc, help along and remind the story that the Coven technically still has some school responsibilities, and then depart to let the Coven continue to its next adventure.

For the character quirks/foci of the story-

Velvet: The closest friend with Team RWBY and JNPR. Velvet has a special tie because her camera- aura-special as it is- can take ghostly screen-captures of Jaune. It's an early tie-in that helps 'prove' that Jaune is in the classroom at various times. Velvet is the 'heart' of the Team CFVY poly, as she likes all of them and all of them like her, and she provides the emotional bonds for all of them. The team poly starts with Velvet crushing on Yatsuhashi, not rejecting Fox after he makes a confession, and then a final spark of attraction between her and Coco, who is attracted but trying to distance herself.

Yatsuhashi: The emotional rock of the team. Reserved but able to express himself, Yats is the mature one who everyone in the team can turn to, even when talking about the poly. Yatsuhashi is Velvet's first crush, and Yatsuhashi's acceptance and acknowledgement of his friend's feelings rather than rejection of her even if he holds the whole team equally close the example for Velvet's own acceptance of Fox's interest. Yatsuhashi serves as team councilor, encouraging Fox to confess his interest and listening to Coco's concerns.

Fox: The quiet one who doesn't express himself, and so has to be coaxed/led to admitting what he wants... which is his torn interest in both Velvet and Coco. Despite Yatsuhashi being in a friendly dating context with Velvet already, Yatsuhashi encourages Fox to confess rather than be jealous, and Velvet accepts Fox's interest in the same way Yatsuhashi accepted hers. It's an unusually serene double-dating as friends-but-more?, even as Fox encourages Velvet to draw Coco in to the arrangement.

Coco: Team Leader and the 'leader' of the poly as it slowly forms. Coco is the key point of resistance, with the most concern about the stability/health of the group as a whole. Despite her public confidence and her private attraction to Coco and 'her boys,' Coco fears the group falling apart and hurting everyone, which is why she tries to resist the relationship every step of the way. Ultimately the group is more stable when she's not left out, and Coco finds happiness with 'her boys' and 'her girl' afterwards, especially after Team CFVY meets the re-united Team Parents and gets some advice from Summer.

Ultimately Team CFVY and the Coven are good friends and close allies, never coming into serious conflict.

/

The Exorcist OC

A re-occuring Exorcist who serves as the reasonable Exorcist figure who recruits Ren to the Exorcists. A generally respectable figure committed to protecting everyone alive. If he didn't believe Jaune a threat and wasn't trying to banish him he'd be a good guy protagonist.

The Exorcists are a group with a variety of views, but The Exorcist specifically is a generally reasonable, pragmatic person who's conservative and favors the old ways but recognizes the need to adapt to the changing times. He opposes Ozpin's attempt to publicize ghosts to the world, but once ghosts are released and a fait accompli he's more interested in minimizing the damage than in putting the genie back in the bottle. If that means working with good ghosts and tolerating neutral ones in order to stop the bad ghosts sooner, fine. He does hold a view that ghosts are intrensically dangerous, but this is because many spirits do start to lash out and become violent as they approach aura perma-death, either out of despair or last-ditch desperation. The Exorcist favors making ghosts move on before then, but won't risk the living for the dead.

The Exorcist is a reasonable figure, but also a clever one. He plays on Ren's desire for knowledge and ghost lore to gradually turn Ren away from Nora. This isn't necessarily evil- he believes it's for a good cause and never compels Ren to do anything bad- but there's an element of manipulation that accompanies the seeming reasonableness. The Exorcist is pragmatic, not morally pure, and there's always an element of playing with fire, or that he could turn against the Coven.

As Ren earns trust, the Exorcists continues to be an exposition figure for the Exorcists knowledge and lore. The Exorcist informs about the Lanterns, banishment, and even Cinder's past. Ren's Seer abilities allow the Exorcist to rise in the ranks, and rising in the ranks allows the Exorcist to give more lore to Ren. The Exorcist opens up more lore the more useful Ren becomes, and it's not clear who's benefiting more from who. It's cooperation, though, and not coercion, and as the more they do together they better things become, as the Exorcists slowly reform from 'antagonists' to 'allies of convenience' to 'fellow protectors.'

The Exorcist wouldn't survive the story- he'd be a prime candidate for being killed as the end-game approaches to show Cinder's growing threat- but despite the quasi-antagonism and suspicion he isn't a Bad Guy. He just disagrees, more reasonably than not, and while he resists change he's gradually turned to be more tolerant of ghosts and to consider re-assessing the role of the Exorcists. While he's no friend of ghosts, by the end of the story his influence- and support for Ren rising in the ranks- allows the Exorcists to change from 'all ghosts are dangerous to the living' to 'we protect people from bad ghosts.'

When the Exorcist dies, which would be near The End, his death would be the changing of the guard. He'd pass on the mantle of responsibility- for both the Exorcists and protecting people from ghosts- to Ren, who he comes to trust even if they don't always agree. Irony would have it that the Exorcist turn into a ghost, and become what he spent his life opposing, but seeing Ren taking up the mantle would allow him to find peace and move on.

The Exorcists are a major force who only gets stronger after Season 3, when the return of ghosts to the world forces them to start openly recruiting. They get tied into many of the plots of the story, sometimes as allies but sometimes as enemies of circumstance. They allow Ren to play a reoccuringly important role as mediator, agent, and question of loyalties.

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The Winchesters (and Team CRDL)

Cardin's family, which is a notable group of exorcists.

Cardin was always intended to come back to the story eventually, though not specific plot or timing was ever decided. Obviously it would involve Ren, the Exorcists, and Cardin/CRDL serving as quasi-antagonists and getting a chance for eventual redemption.

The Winchesters are an old family of exorcists, and also Seers. They were Seers who cooperated with the Exorcists during the Witch Hunts long ago. They have a long and respected tradition as hardliner exorcists... and a secret that could ruin it all. The Winchesters have always given shelter to ghosts in some form, allowing their mansion- a not-acknowledged haunted mansion- to serve as a refuge for ghosts working to pass on peacefully. This original deception is not so different from Ren's own actions, using his Sight to overlook harmless ghosts.

Cardin doesn't know of that past, but he has his own, separate secret: a familiar. This was the possible cause/means of framing Jaune before, but Cardin's familiar is the ghost of a loyal pet from his childhood. Because Cardin believes he would have been made to exorcise/destroy it if it was found, Cardin has kept it a secret all this time from his family lest he disappoint his father and mother.

(Who, it turns out, have all done the same thing. The entire Winchester line has loyal companion ghosts, even if the Winchesters are stuck with the worst ghost sense.)

Cardin and the Winchesters represent the less palatable exorcists, but Cardin gradually is allowed redemption and an apology and uneasy peace with Jaune. Cardin and CRDL are never friends, but they stop being enemies and represent the exorcist focus on bad ghosts.

Team CRDL would also return as accessories of Cardin. Despite how they were used for a fake rape scare during Yang's out-of-body crisis, that's not what they were actually intending to do (just juvenile pranks) and that's not what they'd be stuck at. After the return of ghosts to the world, and Beacon's efforts of sending teams out to deal with them, Team RDL leaves Beacon to rejoin Cardin and join the Exorcists. Individually they aren't significant, but collectively they serve as Cardin's support and 'faction.' While antagonistic to Jaune at first, Team CRDL as a whole rejects the ultimate hardliners of the Exorcists, the ones who would go after all ghosts no matter what. Despite initially aligning with them, Team CRDL stands by Cardin when his secret familiar comes out.

Team CRDL plays a seperate role as the implicit 'proof' that all Teams in the story become polyamorous harems. It's never gone into or directly addressed, merely implied that Team CRDL too is one big (and three normal) BL sausage fest. Team CRDL is the comedic counterpoint for when the poly-angles are raised for self-referential comedy, like someone- anyone- going 'Isn't there any team at Beacon that didn't just fall into a harem of its own?' 'Well, there is Team CRDL,' then flash to Team CRDL sneezing and someone else complaining about being sore.

/

The Faunus Ghost OC

A minor OC for Season 2, 3, and tragically dying in the Season 3 finale.

The FGOC is one of the ghosts the White Fang has brought to Vale to turn into a weapon. FGOC escaped whatever the White Fang were using to contain ghosts, and is found wandering the city during the White Fang investigation. Ren, Ruby, and Jaune notice, giving a clue for the White Fang. FCOG is in the trickster-spirit phase of death, having just died, and so has to be caught.

FCOG interests Blake, even if they can't directly interact, and FCOG sticks around. However, while at Beacon FCOG starts to be corrupted and turned into a bad mad ghost, just as Jaune was. FCOG is the evidence that the White Fang are defiling spirits to turn them into weapons. FCOG lucks out, though, as Team RWBY and JNPR- especially Blake and Nora- go the extra mile to subdue and save FCOG, re-granting sanity.

FCOG doesn't know where his/her body is, or have any other residual aura source, which means their time is limited. Without their body, they can't have a catalyst for a spirit-marriage option either. The group resolves to be there for FCOG in his/her final days, and to help him/her move on. They do some things to give FCOG a chance at life- like a mock-first date (Ren if female, Nora if male), shenanigans, and so on- with the promise/goal being a front-row seat for the Vytal Festival tournament. FCOG is sure that if (s)he saw Hunters in person, (s)he could move on.

FCOG isn't a constant companion- (s)he wanders the city and kills time on his/her own away from the group- but is a ghost cameo reflecting a growing number of ghosts in the city. The increase of ghosts is a foreshadowing of Cinder's plan to bring out the Exorcists. FCOG gets caught up in the crisis, though, and is one of the ghosts caught in the Lantern, trapped and crying about how (s)he can't move on after all.

Once the Lantern is destroyed, FCOG is released and free to Move On, giving a final thank you that even the non-Seers Blake and Nora can hear.

/

Random Jokes and Ideas

A final, miscellaneous jokes and gags that would have gone on along the way.

/

Vacuum Cleaners

A reoccurring joke would be of Jaune getting sucked up and stuck in vacuum cleaners. Why? How? No one knows, but they become a reoccurring bane for Jaune as it takes time, though not energy, for him to work his way out of it (unless someone opens it up). This puts Jaune on bad terms with Weiss at more than one point, though always played for comedy and Weiss being embarrassed about it afterwards.

This comes from the Luigi's Mansion video games, where ghosts are sucked up with vacuum cleaners.

/

/

The Robot Bodies

A re-occuring gimmick is that Jaune tries to use robot bodies as a stop-gap until he can get his own body, and that his robot-bodies meet terrible and brutal ends just like his own body. Knocked off bullheads, thrown in metal crushers, blown up, etc. etc. Dead body humor continues to exist with the leaks, breaks, and rampant destruction of Jaune's body.

This even includes Paladins. During the White Fang investigation arc, Breach, and Season 3 crisis, Jaune Jaune has reached a level where he can possess and assume control of even piloted mechs. Yet, no matter what Jaune possesses, it ALWAYS meets a gruesome end- even the Paladins, which are swarmed by Grimm and ripped piece by piece.

It's a common enough joke that some wonder if Jaune would even be able to stay alive if he got a new body.

/

The Halloween Special

A special chapter which would have been a case of 'Teams JNPR and RWBY set up a haunted house.' A stand-alone special for Halloween, it would have hit all the usual seasonal jokes, opportunities, and costumes. A friendship thing in general.

The nominal plot would have been that Teams RWBY and JNPR get assigned to do a Haunted House event as a volunteer/class participation in the school's festival. Doing so will help with their grades, especially Jaune's, but it's also a project to prove their ability to plan, organize, and present an experience. The chapter really begins as it starts, and there's not much plot besides having fun... and a possible second ghost causing things to go amuck. Teams RWBY and JNPR have to work together to stop the bad ghost from disrupting Halloween.

(That ghost, it turns out, is none other than Glenda Goodwitch- using her own semblance to prank students as part of her own bit of fun.)

Aside from some stereotype jokes- about how predictable/cliche the expected roles are for Jaune the Ghost- the main thoughts were on costumes.

Ruby starts as a precocious pumpkin costume where she falls down and can't get up. After rolling around, Ruby dresses as a boyish vampire, complete with fake teeth. Ruby carries Crocea Mors with her, since by this time Crocea Mors is talking, which ultimately does lead to a quasi-hemaphrodite joke of 'Is that a sword in your pants or are you happy to see me?' 'Yes.'

Weiss, lead planner, dresses as the scariest thing she can think of- an auditer. Weiss eventually goes for the 'pale white ghost' look herself. Weiss screams a lot in fright.

Blake is a were-cat, and resents the racial stereotype of being a were-animal. She also gets offended on Jaune's behalf of ghost stereotypes, and later joins Ruby as a Vampire. Blake's eating mystery bloody meat throughout the story.

Yang goes the 'sexy costume' route, and changes regularly to get sexy costume cred. Varrying between sexy biker chick, sexy nurse, sexy policewoman, and... sexy teacher, when she steals some of Glynda's clothes. This was going to be some time after the spirit marriage, when she and Jaune are unofficial, and so after one costume malfunction (a sexy mummy wrap), Jaune was going to save Yang's modesty by holding up some slipping wraps against her.

Jaune goes as a... ghost, duh. With a sheet with holes. He also possesses Grimm mannequins for the haunted house. One joke was going to be a point where he and Pyrrha play a prank where Pyrrha uses magnatism to fake a ghost-sheet, so that Jaune can spoof thing for a jump-scare.

Nora goes as a Valkerie. She plays a really hammy barbarian, including 'abducting' Ren by knocking him out and dragging him away at one point. Nora confuses 'crazy' with 'creepy,' mostly for comedic effect, though she makes some off-the-wall intimidating ideas like breaking knees.

Pyrrha is... not sure, but something painfully un-fun. Like, a historic figure with a monstrous history, rather than a monster. The joke was mostly that Pyrrha isn't used to Halloween, and has to get taught how to have fun. She helps with the haunted house jump-scares, and joins Jaune in a few pranks that show their partnership.

Ren is forced to dress in drag. As a member of the coven, Sister Mister is forced to cross dress as a princess. Ren bears it with dignity... and eventually gets dragged away by the barbarian Nora.

/

'Creating the Perfect Man'

During Season 3, Ironwood approaches the Coven about the truth of Penny and the Penny-body program. In exchange for Jaune's assistance/good conduct during the tournament, Ironwood offers Jaune a Penny-body of his own. This would 'bring Jaune to life', albeit in a robotic shell, but allow him to live and generate his aura once again. Because robot bodies are custom-made, Ironwood lets Jaune decide/design his own body with the Coven's help.

And by 'help,' I mean 'the Coven takes over.'

In an embarrassing moment, the coven and Jaune struggle to remember what he actually looked like. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and… that's about it. They're pretty sure he wasn't black? Having forgotten and lacking any good photos of what he looked like before, it's up to the Coven to design Jaune's new body.

Ren accidentally starts it off in that it'd be nice of them if they gave Jaune not just the body he had, but maybe something a bit better, and then everyone gets wrapped up in what they consider 'better'… which is to say, what they want out of a man.

Pyrrha likes dem hips and a stable core. Blake likes long legs (and not just because they have the most tender… loin). Yang likes pecs that aren't too big, and aren't too small, but are _just right_. Weiss likes taller guys with big hands. Ruby goes crazy in her love for guns- and starts designing all sorts of 'implants' for Jaune to have cool weapons like Penny. Nora has her own fun too.

As the design decisions escalate, all the girls more romantically entwined with Jaune- Weiss, Blake, and Yang- start quibbling over the 'specifications' for what they want Jaune to look like when he returns, and what they think would make a better, ahem, spirit husband. It becomes a crazy mix match of shifting dials, twisting nobs, stepping out of turn to make the adjustments they want even as everyone's inputs insures no one gets exactly what they want, creating a chaotic cacophony that has to be put to order.

If everyone puts in what they want, then no one will get the output they want. Everyone looks to what they created- the jumbled mix and mess of everyone picking attributes they thought most desirable and throwing them altogether- and see…

Jaune's body.

Having accidentally designed Jaune's body from the output of the grab-bag of preferences, the Coven is surprised, and amused, and decides to accept it. Yang, Blake, and Weiss are left to consider what this means, even if they grudgingly accept that they have to restore one body part in particular to more reasonable proportions. With regret, they twist the nob to reduce it.

Jaune, floating by and using a possessed teddy bear microphone to speak, idly notes that his love gun is smaller than it used to be. Oh well- he can live without it if he has to.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss trade looks, and scramble over eachother to twist the knob back to 'max.'

/

(And then- later- Tiayang makes out with Jaune's body when it has Summer's soul. Romantic, or totally gay? Girls blush regardless. Summer's Jaune-bod becoming the center point of yet another harem of the parents is a separate reoccuring joke.)

/

A Wedding and A Funeral: The Final Chapter

While the finale would have been beating Cinder once and for all, the final chapter might have had not just the wedding promised, for a happy end, but an epilogue as well. While the story was intended to set up a point where the Coven could quest indefinitely, something to tie it all together in a bitter-sweet happy would would have been appropriate as an epilogue. A sort of 'the rest of life until the end' sort of thing.

The chapter would have started with the wedding of Jaune to Ruby and Yang (and Yin), with everyone else around and happy. A moment of happiness, and cheer, and life... but in this story, life and death go hand-in-hand.

The epilogue would have been long, but hit a lot of the highlights of the life of the coven in the future. Momentsof adventure, and happiness, and growth and childbirth as the families form... but also age, and experience, and death. Youth doesn't last forever.

Eventually the cast would begin to pass on. Team Parents first- with Raven and Taiyang meeting their end heroically, but breaking the survivors. Raven and Taiyang leave no ghosts, either moving on immediately or lost to the Grimm. Qrow falls into alcoholism in grief, and Summer stays with him until he dies. When he does- with her own team gone- Summer makes peace with having lived long enough and chooses to follow them. Summer's suicide- if it can be called that- is deliberate, and pre-arranged, so that she can have final words with her daughters, who have their own lives and can live without her. Summer promises to wait for Ruby on the other side, leaves her Jaune-bod, and moves on for good.

Soon after, friends die as well. None of the Coven at first, but friends none the less. Team CRDL dies heroically. Team CFVY dies tragically. Velvet dies first, her ghost unable to be seen or heard by her team, and the poly begins to spin apart as Fox and Coco fixate on avenging her. They die in a reckless assault, leaving Yatsu the sole survivor and alone. Yatsu nearly commits suicide to join them, but the knife is stopped by a ghostly force. Yatsu retires to a monastary, where their ghosts follow him in a one-man/three-ghost spirit-marriage, where he eventually dies peacefully of old age.

Mortality comes to the Coven eventually as well, as the previous generations lead the way. Some die dramatically- Pyrrha, fighting a crypt-lord as Champion of the Exorcists- some die heroically- Nora, protecting ghosts against Grimm- and some die anticlimatically. Yang dies in a car crash. Weiss has a heart attack. No one knows how Blake died after she disappears for a mysterious ritual she promises will keep them together forever, only knowing that she did when her ghost appears.

As the Coven goes, they also stay around. None of the friends move on, but become a satellite constellation of ghosts among the survivors, protecting them as best they can to old age. Eventually Ren and Ruby are the last, keeping them all together by sight and sound, and then only Ruby.

Ruby dies of old age, peacefully. Old enough to see her kids, and grandkids, and the grandkids of all her friends as well. She's old enough to begin hearing voices that aren't her friends or Jaune, and even gradually loses her ghost sense as senility sets in. Ruby considers suicide when she finally can't hear Jaune anymore, but doesn't, as she trusts their promise to wait for her and believes in them even if she can't tell they're there anymore. Ruby lives a little long, wise and respect as one of the witches who brought the dead back to Remnant, before taking to her death bed and being surrounded by not just her family, but the family of all the coven. Ruby dies with final words, reflecting on the good life she lived with those she loved.

Ruby dies, and with the funeral rites given she rises as a ghost. When she does, she finally sees her friends and lovers- waiting for her, just as they promised. They- she- all look as young as they were in Beacon, just as she remembers them. For the first time since Initiation she sees Jaune outside of a dream, as he helps her up and embraces her with a kiss on the cheek, which everyone else does soon after.

Ruby is reunited with her friends, family, and love, and the question of 'what next?' comes. They could stick around, as ghosts, and live off the Arc aura reserves... but their time has come. They waited for her, but now that she's joined them it's time to move on.

The sky gets bright, as the sun seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, and Ruby knows approaching it means to move on. Despite the fear- that this is truly The End- her hands are grabbed by Jaune and Yang. Looking down, and around, Ruby realizes they're all holding on to eachother- some tighter, some lighter, but all refusing to let go.

Ruby gives a brave smile, and resolves to move forward. Moving on will be their next adventure, but no matter what happens they'll do it... together.

The Coven rises towards the light, and as the light blurs out everything else Ruby's last image is of everyone else. Their last words are shouts of 'I love you all', and the white consumes everything.

The story's final scene begins with a 's cry, a dazed Ruby being lifted by a giant, and a worn but alive Summer in a maternity gown.

Ruby is having an out-of-body experience of her own body, and struggles to listen to the nurse. The nurse assures two adults who look like Summer and Qrow- but are dressed in different clothes that suggest this may not be Remnant- that Ruby is healthy despite the sudden delivery. Raven and Taiyang are supposedly just next door, with Raven who just delivered Yang. Two babies by sisters-in-law on the same day- what are the chances?

Nothing compared to the chances of eight sudden deliveries in one day at a single hospital, all delivering at almost the exact same time, the nurse remarks. There's something special about that, for sure.

Spirit-Ruby's eyes widen, and there's a flashback to Blake's last living words about trying to keep everyone together forever, and Ruby nearly races out of the room until she's stopped by her name. It's Summer, who's holding her- the baby her- who's terribly quiet. Summer is speaking to the baby, but possibly looking at her, and Ruby realizes the baby isn't crying.

Ruby looks at the baby, who seems soulless, even as Qrow and the Nurse start to express concern. Ruby looks at the door again- certain her friends are beyond- but remembers their promise to wait for her. With a promise of her own to see them soon, Ruby slides into her own body.

Baby Ruby comes to life, eyes focusing and coughing to the relief of those there. She's not crying, but as the nurse bustles to take Ruby to a care unit she tells Summer and Qrow not to worry. The other newborn children have had similar issues, and they're all pulling through. Besides, just look at Ruby.

She's smiling.

/

Fin

/

Author Notes:

And that's all to finally have it all down and done with. As you can see, lots of ideas and lots of places it could have gone, and most of them not where I'd normally go.

Gross, grotesque humor of bodily maiming? Check.

Harem? I prefer polyamory when trying to address it seriously, but check.

Worldbuilding and character twists and things, or my? Check.

A tendency to meander between comedy and bitter-sweet hardship and happiness despite so many dead people? Check, check, check.

This took too long to polish up and send out the door, and for that I apologize. It wasn't deliberate, and I hope people enjoyed what they see.

Some have asked, so I'll say it here-

If you want to take your own hand at writing this story based on the ideas within, feel free. Go ahead.

Otherwise, hopefully everyone can imagine their own morbid comedy in their head, and enjoy it.

Cheers,

C.F.


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